


Live for Something or Die for Nothing

by Renegadethoughts



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Child Abandonment, Child Murder, Consensual Underage Sex, Drug Dealing, Earthborn (Mass Effect), F/M, Gang Violence, Graphic Violence, Male Protagonist, Mass Effect - Freeform, Mind Rape, Multi, Renegon (Mass Effect), Ruthless (Mass Effect), Threats of dismemberment, Torture, sex scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2018-05-17 23:06:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 26
Words: 138,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5888713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renegadethoughts/pseuds/Renegadethoughts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How a orphan from the slums of earth came from nothing to become a defender of everything. Logan John Shepard rose from the slums of Earth and became the First human Spectre. Will follow his time before the Alliance and maybe a bit afterwards</p><p>Just because someone is a good guy does not mean they are a nice guy. Cold, calculating and brutal. Logan follows his own code which is "The punishment must fit the crime". The only question is the galaxy ready for a human Spectre with his own form of brutal justice?</p><p>Later tags to be added, I don't want to give too much away. If you are after Pure smut look elsewhere, while this does have sex scenes in it, it is not the main basis of the story. The rating is what it is as I don't want to get into trouble for some of the war scenes</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From Nothing

Chapter 1 From Nothing

John Shepard was behind the wheel of his garbage truck, the pay wasn't great, but at least he wasn't below the poverty line and as long as he stayed out of gang business he would be fine.

Stepping out of his truck he could hear the sound of a baby crying, with no idea where the sound was coming from he followed the cries and came up to a dumpster before opening it, he could see a newborn baby boy covered in blood screaming with the cord still intact meaning the boy’s mother had placed him there just after labour and left him to die.  
Taking his jacket off and wrapping the baby up "shh little guy" he said as he thought of what kind of mother could just dump a baby like that in a dumpster "we will get you someplace safe" before climbing back in his truck and taking him to the police, after giving the police his details he left the boy with them.

  
The boy was placed into an orphanage and was given the name of Logan John Shepard named after the man who saved him, Logan grew to understand it was not a good place to be, it wasn't uncommon for orphans to be beaten, abused and even sold off to slavers. Taking his chances on the streets instead, picking food out of garbage bins, stealing whatever he needed and trying to stay warm at night. Avoiding the street gang known as the Aztecs, a brutal street gang who kidnapped people and sold them as slaves who also were known to cut the hearts out of their enemies was a bigger concern. Children were worth more to slavers so Logan would always hide from them which wasn't that difficult, as he knew the best hiding places and when to run. At seven years old he had started doing small jobs for the Tenth Street Reds another street gang who dealt in red sand and stole from other gangs and were well known for their cruelty to those who crossed them. Being a lookout for the Reds was an easy job for Logan as he knew most of undercover police in the area and the ones he didn't know he could spot them a mile away, it didn't take long before Logan was offered membership into the Reds.

  
"All you have to do is stay standing for ten minutes and you're in" Ramon 'the razor' said before nodding to the other young members all around Logan's age, who had already surrounded him and quickly moved forward and attacked him.

  
Logan tried to fight back but there was so many of them, it was like he was being mobbed, so many of them he couldn't see past the crowd of them he felt his lip split open from a punch to the side of his face as well as taking a kick to the ribs, he thought he couldn't stand much longer

  
"Times up" Ramon yelled

  
Logan had just kicked another boy between the legs and heard a groan he was about to hit him again when he heard Ramon yell times up.

Ramon smiled as he walked up to him "you have heart kid" he told him "welcome to the family" he said shaking Logan's hand smiling at him as he handed him a red bandana.

From then on Logan's life was a little easier he had family, money to spend, food and never had to worry about freezing to death in the street or having his face eaten off by rats or kidnapped and sold as a slave by the Aztecs. It didn't take long before he got in deeper with the Reds and started selling red sand, at this time he bought his first gun a pistol and he always had it on him a habit he continued into his adult life if he couldn't have a gun on him he at least made sure he had a knife, his first time he killed someone came not long afterwards.  
He was nine years old and selling red sand, the buyer was a junkie or sand tripper as they were called and desperate for his next dose of sand and when he saw that his dealer was a nine year old he thought Logan was an easy target and snatched the small bag containing two grams of sand out of Logan's hand and went to run, Logan had never had anyone run without paying before but took chase anyway and pulled out his pistol and fired off a shot which missed but got the man's attention who pulled his own weapon out and fired back which did not miss, hitting Logan in the shoulder, screaming out in pain Logan fired and kept pulling the trigger spraying the alleyway with bullets, several shots ripped through the man's legs and back sending him to the ground dead. Logan stood there in shock before hearing sirens in the distance snapped him out of his trance, picking up the bag of sand and headed back to the Red's clubhouse clutching his shoulder and trying not to pass out from the pain, this incident would stay with him for years and would shape the rest of his life.  
Logan had made it back to the clubhouse.

  
"What happened?" Ramon asked as he saw Logan walk in

  
"Guy tried to run without paying" Logan told him "he didn't get far' he finished

  
"Good" Ramon replied "let's get that looked get that looked at" he said leading Logan to another member of the Reds "Doc, the little guy took a bullet" he said to Doc who was a failed med student fired for stealing medical equipment and drugs from the university  
"Alright sit him down" Doc said walking over "hold him, this will hurt" he told Ramon and went to work removing the bullet.

  
Logan tried not to scream and gritted his teeth he was focusing on it not hurting so much, he didn't notice his body glowing blue with biotic energy which got the attention of both Ramon and Doc "looks like we have a biotic in our ranks" Doc said  
Ramon just looked worried, Logan was confused "what's a biotic?" he asked to which he was ignored

  
"No, of course not" Doc said to Ramon as they continued talking as if he wasn't there "if anything he will be able to scare the shit out of our enemies"

  
Ramon didn't seem to believe that but simply nodded and walked away as Doc told him what he knew about biotics and finished working on the wound, Logan stayed silent all this talk of harnessing dark energy was a bit much to take in and there was also how Ramon looked at him.

  
Over the years saw Logan become more and more respected in the Reds but since finding out he was a biotic by the Reds they backed away, feared by the other Reds so they left him alone and gave him a lot of space, still selling red sand and doing other jobs for the Reds like intimation of rival gangs, he was also starting to go his own way instead, learning martial arts was a passion of his and he even went to school unlike a lot of other Reds, he enjoyed reading about different alien races and would study their military history every chance he got. Left on his own he would spend hours testing his biotics on small objects like beer bottles, making them spin and even lifting them up he tried throwing them at times but he could never throw the bottle hard enough to break it and without a biotic amp and training he wouldn't be able to. However, Logan still could not shake the feeling he should do more with his life, if he stayed in the Reds he would either end up dead or in prison and neither option was promising but he still refused to die for nothing however at this point in his life he couldn't think of how to change things.

**Few years later**

  
Logan had been with the Reds for most of his life now, at sixteen he was mostly selling red sand, shooting people and sometimes raids on other gangs. Aliens were not uncommon on earth after the first contact war, although turians were still very rare to see, it was mostly asari, salarians and of course volus all of them either tourists or there on business.

  
The asari were known to be dancers and would get hired almost right away by strip clubs so earth was seen as a place for asari to get rich quickly and there were rumours of some of them dating humans but Logan never saw it, he did see volus merchants selling almost anything, he even bought a turian combat knife off one of them and even used it stabbing a Kings member to death with it later that week, and the salarians had the best stock of tech gear around.  
The other aliens that made their way to earth were mercenary groups the most notable was the Eclipse, who started making an offer to the earth gangs which was simple, join us or die and since they offered more money, better equipment and even training many gangs openly joined the Eclipse even Reds members were joining, which could only mean one thing. War.  
Out of the gangs on earth The Kings were one of the first to join and to prove that they should be allowed in, they wiped out the entire Brotherhood in one night, the Aztecs were now almost completely off world now and the Reds were busy killing traitors who had sold them out to Eclipse.

  
The preferred method of dealing with traitors in the Reds was rather simple and was called 'angel wings' where the traitor would be held down, have their lungs cut out of their body and pulled out of their back and left to hang there like a pair of wings, it was the same reason why the Reds gang tattoo was of a winged red skull with '10' on its forehead, every member knew what would happen if they turned.  
Logan had to help 'give people wings' more a few times but his main job was to sell sand and deal with customers, due to this Logan was called to help set up a peace deal with Eclipse and so Logan and two other Reds were to meet with an Eclipse contact at a club, an asari exotic dancer.

Walking into the club was easy since the Eclipse was waiting for them. They made their way over to a table and looked around.

  
"Lot of asari here" said Seth one of the Reds with Logan who was thinking the same thing

  
"Well Eclipse is a asari group" Logan replied "makes sense that they would have a few of their own working here" he said sitting down he kept having a feeling that he was in danger "just be on guard, this could be a trap" he told them.

  
A dancer made her way over "You boys must be with the Reds" she said smiling brightly and walking over slowly.

  
Logan had seen asari before but never spoke to one before but even so he was wondering why she was acting the way she was, every step she took was calculated, every sway of her hips  
"So you're Logan?" she asked still smiling

  
Logan nodded and looked into her eyes "yeah that's me" he said watching as she walked over, Logan had been with a few girls by that stage in his life but he still felt uneasy around her, the whole sticking her tits in his face act was a bit much but she was a dancer so maybe he was reading too much into it

  
"I've heard a lot about you" she said sitting on his lap

  
"Really?" he asked "what have you heard?" he asked looking up at her

  
"You're a biotic" she told him "a few of your friends came here often" she told him after noticing him frowning "relax" she said to him moving closer and placing a hand on his bare arm "asari are a race of biotics" she told him proudly.

  
Logan nodded and looked around he saw the other two Reds talking to another two asari who were doing the same thing as this one was, moving his hand to his waist "sorry" he said as he readjusted himself

  
"Don't be sorry" she said smiling "I am still getting used to the fact that humans get excited like that" she told him chuckling

  
Logan smiled "well only the males do" he laughed "I'm just glad you didn't think it was a gun or something" he said chuckling keeping his hand near his waist to which she just ignored.

  
"The Reds do not want you with them" she said looking over at Ramon who was over at the bar and started walking over

  
"What can I say kid?" Ramon said "Reds are moving up in the world and the Eclipse are going to help with that" he said "but we don't need or want any biotics" he said "well human ones anyway" he added.  
The asari dancer stopped her dancing now "so the Eclipse gets you and we get access to their best stock and get a presence off world" Ramon told him while looking very pleased with himself, the dancer smiled down at Logan as his mind raced

  
"Wait, you're selling me?" Logan asked

  
"No, I never sold you" Ramon said "selling you would mean your worth something, and you’re not" Ramon said laughing "I can't trust you kid" Ramon continued as Logan now knew the reason the asari was all over him, to stop him from running or shooting up the place "you're a biotic and that means you're a threat" Ramon said before looking at the other two Reds "as for them?, they only came along to sleep with asari" he said laughing "they are not here to help you" Ramon smiled at that "see?, not one Red trusts you".

  
The dancer who was still sitting on Logan's lap and smiling down at Logan "don't worry you will be well looked after" she said chuckling

  
"And if I don't want to be?" Logan asked to which she just laughed

  
"You don't have a choice" she said "you can't reach your weapon and you can't run" she said glowing bright blue with biotic energy

  
"Is that right?" Logan said to the dancer who only smiled "well I suppose I should let you in on a secret" Logan told her, smiling she leaned down and she whispered into his ear.

  
"Oh and what's that human?" she asked

  
Logan smiled "that's not me your feeling" he told her, the asari's eyes widened as she realized her mistake a second too late as Logan pulled the trigger on his pistol which he had hidden in the front of his pants, at point blank range she never stood a chance as bullets ripped through her groin and stomach, what the asari had thought was him was in reality a gun barrel, a trick a human woman would not of fallen for "I would tell you to learn the difference between a gun barrel and a cock for next time" he said standing up "but next time is something you just don't have".

  
Now standing with his pistol in his hand he pointed the gun towards the other two Reds members and the dancers and opened fire, gunning the four of them down, as chaos erupted inside the club, Logan used that as a chance to escape shooting anyone who even looked like they would try and stop him.

  
Logan got five feet from the table that he was at before he was hit with a biotic throw sending him flying through a window. Hitting the ground with a thud, he didn't have time to stay down either as bullets hit the ground around him quickly standing back up groaning in pain and running keeping his head down as Eclipse gave chase but quickly lost sight of him. Logan made sure the coast was clear before he climbed out of a dumpster and tried to get feeling in his right hand again and thinking how the only family he ever had just betrayed him.

  
Logan slowly made his way back to the Reds clubhouse, he was sore all over from being thrown by biotics through a window, he had small cuts on his face and hands but nothing major and his right hand had pins and needles but the feeling was coming back at least.  
Once he reached the clubhouse he could see nothing but flames he just stood there in shock until his phone rang

"Iceman?" Finch asked using a nickname Logan had gotten some years before due to his habit of not showing his emotions

  
"Yeah it's me" Logan said "Ramon set me up" he said "he sold out the Reds to the Eclipse" he told Finch

  
"I know, they showed up about an hour after you left for that peace deal" Finch explained "listen the Reds are not for sale no matter what Eclipse or Ramon thinks, and I don't care that he started the group" Finch said "and I don't care you're a biotic, but I need your help" Finch continued "we are going to hit this fucker where it hurts, you in?" he asked

  
Logan thought about it for less than a second "hell yes" Logan told him

  
"Glad to hear it Iceman, I'll pick you up from your place in half an hour" Finch told him before hanging up.

  
Logan walked in the front door of his place that he shared with Finch as well as another Red, he didn't have long Finch would be here soon so he cleaned himself up and grabbed his shotgun and turian combat knife, he was staring at the knife when the T.V showed an Alliance ad, he didn't know why but he kept watching the ad, almost transfixed by it  
"Make a life for yourself, with a promising career in the Alliance military" the ad continued while showing footage of soldiers training and smiling at the camera "biotics are welcome, we offer a discrimination free workplace" the ad continued while showing biotics in training throwing powerful biotics around warps and singularity's "apply now" the ad finished just as Finch showed up, walking out the door with his weapons he got into the car

  
"Iceman, good to see you" Finch said "now let's go"

  
Finch stopped the car just outside of a house "now this is where Ramon is now staying" he told them before looking at Logan "there might be aliens in there" he said "you're not going to let your love of all things alien stop you, will you?" he asked

  
"I have already shot three asari tonight, let's just get it over with" Logan told him as they got out of the car and quickly surrounded the place before kicking in the doors.

  
Once the doors were open, Logan was inside and shot a salarian in the face as soon as he saw him blowing his brains out and onto the wall behind him, screaming, yelling, cursing and of course gunshots could be heard though the house it didn't take long for them to find Ramon who Finch had shot in both kneecaps and was being dragged into the living room.

  
"Iceman you can do this" he told him while Finch and the other Reds held him down

  
Logan normally didn't like this part of his job it seemed excessive however he wasn't in a charity, he was in a violent street gang and this was a way of life but for Ramon he made an exception.  
Taking out the combat knife he carried, it had a small handle but a curved blade that was heavier towards the tip.

  
"Tonight you earn your wings Ramon" Finch said laughing at him as Logan stabbed him in the shoulder hard enough to break bones and started to cut, Ramon screamed loudly and began to thrash wildly however with Finch and the other Red holding him down he couldn't do much.

  
"That's one wing" Logan said as he pulled out the lung before he stabbed him again on the other side and started to cut as Finch laughed at Ramon

  
"Where are ya alien buddies now eh?" Finch said laughing as the second lung was pulled out and they let him up Ramon was in no shape to escape and just kept screaming in agony.

  
At that moment a child walked into the room "daddy?" he asked with fear in his voice

  
Logan turned to see the child but before he could do anything Finch calmly took out his pistol and shot the child as if he was nothing; Logan lost it and punched Finch in the face breaking his nose

  
"What the fuck was that for?" Logan screamed "he was just a kid" Logan was beyond angry but quickly stopped when Finch put the pistol to his head

  
"He was a kid that could identify us" Finch explained calmly while holding his nose with his other hand "you got one hell of a punch on you" he said smiling "I don't know if you know this or not Iceman" he said with sarcasm added to the word iceman "but this is what we do" Finch added "so you either get used to it or….." he looked down at Ramon who was dead, his eyes still open and in shock "well you're a sports fan, you figure it out" Finch said "c'mon let's get out of here" Finch said.

  
Logan nodded slowly and walked away, not getting back into the car, he didn't want to be around them anymore, he was covered in blood and slowly made his way back to his place while staring at his blood soaked hands, he always thought there was a line that the Reds wouldn't cross, he was wrong, there was no line, no code of conduct they simply did what they wanted and didn't care about anything but money and red sand, Logan couldn't believe he was this stupid to believe that they were different. Once home Logan had a shower and got changed, he needed to leave so he packed a bag of clothes and walked out the door.

  
Logan walked the streets for over an hour, but with no car he was stuck inside the city leaving his only option to was to steal a car, making his way over to a parked car he quickly looked around saw no one and broke the window before getting in and starting to hotwire the car, despite all the advances in security and car alarms there was still ways to get around it as Logan was once told 'a lock will only keep a honest person out', he almost had it done when he heard a click beside his head

  
"Don't move your under arrest" said the police officer.


	2. The Blitz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan joins the Alliance and trains at the infamous N school

 Logan turned his head and looked right down the gun barrel of the police officer before he was dragged from the car and slammed against the ground, he didn't resist he knew he was caught however the police didn't take any chances in this part of town, keeping a gun trained on him at all times they handcuffed him as they continued to read him his rights and put him in a squad car. At the station they took his fingerprints and did a background check, Logan wasn't worried he knew they would never find anything he may of been a criminal but he wasn't a suspect in any crimes and the one crime they caught him for was a minor one so they put him in a cell with another non-violent offender, a drunk, so there he sat thinking of his life and what to do now, he was curious if the Alliance would take him even though he just got arrested for car theft.

As it turned out he didn't have to wait long, an Alliance soldier could be seen talking to a police officer, Logan moved closer to the bars to try and make out what they are saying

"...so the Alliance is willing to offer a scholarship to any biotic that doesn't have a violent record" the soldier was heard to say The cop didn't like hearing that "so just 'cos they are freaks, you want to give them a scholarship?" the cop asked "that's bullshit"

The soldier just sighed "biotics are a part of every military in the galaxy" he told the cop "and humans have a few in the service, now we know that there is a lot of biotics out there who do not come forward mainly because of attitudes like that" he said "now you will let me know won't you?" he asked.

 The cop just sighed and said "Fine".

Logan couldn't believe his ears, he always did seem to have good timing, well except for being arrested "I'm a biotic" he called out loud enough for them both to hear and to wake up the drunk

"Get me out of here; I don't want to share a cell with no freak" the drunk slurred backing away from Logan who was grateful the drunk stunk like day old vomit.

The soldier walked forward "Really? What's your name?" he asked

"Logan Shepard, Sir" he replied "Pleased to meet you Shepard, I'm Commander David Anderson" he told him "now I'm afraid I can't just take your word on it that you're a biotic" he said to which Logan just nodded

"I can show you if you would like?" Logan asked before making his arm glow bright blue and using his biotics to flip the Commander's hat off The Commander laughed as he picked up his hat "well I see" he said smiling "what are you in here for?" he asked

Logan smiled "Being a naughty boy"

The police officer looked at Anderson "he was busted trying to steal a car" he told him "he is sixteen and he also has some pretty gang ink on him" he said Logan silently cursed the winged Red skull on the inside of his left arm "but he doesn't have a record, so if you want him you can have him less paperwork for me to do" the cop told Anderson

"So how 'bout it son" Anderson asked "you want to join the Alliance?" he asked "of course you will have to be sent to school first but once you pass that, you can join the Alliance once your 18" he said.

Logan replied "Yes sir, I do"

It took a few weeks for the paperwork to be processed but once it did he was let out of confinement and set to a biotic training camp, the first order of business was to get a biotic amp which as Logan found out meant they would be cutting into the base of his skull and placing the amp there, to say that he was nervous was a understatement but he went along with it and as it turned out while the surgery is risky it went well. Logan woke up with his head in pain and laying in the recovery ward, going to sit up he placed his hand on the metal guard rails along the side of the bed and got a small shock of static electricity, Logan swore and shook his hand

"Yeah you're going to have to be careful with that from now on" said a woman standing at the edge of the bed, Logan didn't notice her at first "I'm Hannah Stevens and I will be your instructor until you leave to join the Alliance, and yes I am a part of the Alliance but this place is just for new biotic recruits to get up to speed before joining, so don't worry you won't have me barking orders at you" she told him laughing.

Logan looked at her she was young maybe mid-twenties with short black hair that reached just past her ears and seemed very easy going "I check in on all new biotics getting their first amp" she told him "you the first one to wake up so far" she told him handing him a glass of water "here take this it will help with the headache" she said "and you can have something to eat once the aesthetic wears off" she told him Logan didn't say anything he found it was easier to find out things if you let other people do the talking.

"So there are other biotics here?" Logan asked.

Hannah just nodded and smiled "Yeah you guys are lucky you all get the new L3 implants" she said "in case you're wondering I am a biotic, I have a L2 implant" she said smiling.

"So you're in the Alliance?" Logan asked

"Yes, though they cycle us though" she told him "if you end up in the Alliance you might be doing this one day" she said before going to check on another student.

Logan just sat there wishing his headache would go away and took a drink of water. Logan was allowed out of bed the following day and was talking to some of the other kids there the oldest one was 17 and would be joining the Alliance as an Adept in a few months "I don't get it, what's an Adept?" Logan asked Jamie, a tall girl with long red hair, perfect white skin and a full but athletic figure,who smiled.

"An Adept is a biotic specialist" she said proudly "then you have a Vanguard which those guys are combat trained as well but don't have the same biotic training that an Adept has" she said explaining the options "then there is Sentinel's which train with Engineer's and Infiltrator's as well as biotic training, but those guys can't really do much biotic wise" she finished "so what are you going in as?" she asked him.

Logan thought about it "maybe Vanguard" he said "I like shotgun's" he said with a shrug to which Jamie just laughed "yeah I get that" she said "well I'll see you around" she said walking off.

Logan watched her leave "damn" he said to himself after he was done admiring her form. Biotic training was a lot harder than Logan thought it would be, it was exhausting and Logan found that he was eating a lot more than he ever had in fact he was always hungry but that was always taken care of, they made sure the biotics were always well fed and on top of that it meant he had a lot of time to talk to the others but he really liked spending time with Jamie and as a result they always were hanging around each other and always sat next to each other while eating.

"So Jamie I guess this is the last we will see of you?" Logan asked "you're leaving soon yeah?"

Jamie chuckled "does that mean you will miss me Logan?" she asked.

In the short time Logan had been there, he and Jamie had hit it off, she was always trying to get him to talk more and to be honest he was letting her for the most part, of course it didn't hurt that she was gorgeous "I guess so" Logan shrugged "I forgot what the peace and quiet was like" he joked.

Jamie just pushed him "You ass" she chuckled.

Logan laughed "c'mon you know you will miss me" he said.

She just blushed and looked down at her plate "Yeah" she said before taking another bite.

"You want to get out of here?" he asked.

Jamie who looked up "But where and do what?" she asked Logan who only smiled

"Whatever we can think of" he said "just the two of us" Logan suggested to a shocked Jamie

"Logan!" she exclaimed

"C'mon I know you have thought about it" Logan said "besides after you leave we might not see each other again" he said smiling "you don't want a whole life time to think about the Vanguard that got away do you?" he said chuckling.

Jamie smiled "you're not a Vanguard yet" she said "but I guess you right, I have thought about it, c'mon" she said grabbing his hand and leading him away to a quiet place where they could be alone. Logan was lead to a small room garden tools "no one comes back here often" she told him before kissing him "you done this before?" she asked.

"Of course, but not with a biotic" he told her

"Yeah same" she said smiling as she took off her panties while Logan fumbled with his pants Both of them glowed with biotic energy which they soon worked out could be used to their advantage, Jamie ran her hand along Logan bare white skin and a slight tingling feeling would be felt by both of them, unable to wait any more he lifted her up and pressed her back against a wall and gently pushed himself into her, biotic energy surrounded them both and made the hair on the back of their necks stand up as well as give each other goose bumps "Wow this is different" Jamie said clearly enjoying it

"Yeah I know what you mean" Logan said massaging her breasts "You have goose bumps" she laughed.

Logan just laughed "So do you" he pointed out as he pounded into her, she was about to say something else but she moaned instead, their biotic energy was causing garden tools to fall off the shelves and unknown to them could be seen outside of the shed, but neither of them cared and it only seemed to encourage them more, they were still going when lunch had finished "shit" Logan said as he buried his face into Jamie's neck as he exploded into her.

Just as the shed door burst open and Hannah Stevens stood there "you two, clean yourselves up and report to my office now!" she said as Logan pulled out and quickly did up his pants and Jamie pulled her panties back on.

Logan waited until Hannah left "well I don't care that was worth it" he said smiling.

Jamie just blushed "Yes getting busted by the teacher was a great touch" she said.

"Hey" Logan said "nothing to be embarrassed about" he told her "look at how many teenagers are here" he told her "I'm guessing this wasn't the first time she caught someone doing this" he said.

"Yeah maybe" she said as they made their way to the office.

As it turned out they just got a warning and a lecture on safe sex, Logan hoped he would be able to spend more time with Jamie but she left to join the Alliance and he wouldn't see her again until much later. It took a few weeks for Logan to get used to being a biotic, every time he touched something metal he would get a small static shock but over time he found he just ignored the shock he would get, he was also hungry almost all the time however since there was always so much to eat it never become a problem, Logan also found that since being caught in the garden shed with Jamie he became quite popular and had a reputation for sleeping around and that would get him into trouble, he made sure not to be caught out again but he still was caught out every once and awhile.

In the six months Logan was at the school he was quickly becoming one of if not the most powerful biotics there, mainly due to hard work and the fact he had no family to distract him and living at the school which only a few of the other students did, on average Logan spent more time training and studying than anyone else. By the time he was seventeen he finished his martial arts training and received his black belt in jiu-jitsu and was very well trained in knife fighting. Biotic training consisted of focusing inwards towards your body before expelling the energy outwards to lift, throw or whatever you needed it to do, a lot of techniques were very difficult and often Logan would leave after the class with splitting headaches, it also carried risks and some of the other students even snapped their own limbs while trying to use their biotics thankfully the instructors limited the amount of times this occurred however it happened enough to remember to get it right.

Logan was on his way back from lunch when he was punched in the face, the guy who had punched him was angry Logan had slept with his girlfriend, the fight lasted all of a few seconds before Logan used his biotics to sending him flying across the room, the man hit a wall hard but was ok however it was against the rules to use your biotics on each other outside of classes in case of injuries, needless to say Logan was in a lot trouble.

Logan was sitting in front of Hannah as she yelled at him "you do not use your biotics outside of class" she told him "if anything like this happens again you will be expelled, do I make myself clear?" she asked

Logan just answered "crystal" before she asked him what started the fight and was not amused when Logan told her.

"Do you blame him?" she asked "No, but in my defense I didn't know she had a boyfriend" his answer was, which Hannah did not find amusing.

He still spoke to Jamie though email but it was clear they were just friends, not that either one of them wanted more than that however were still close friends, she was going well as an Adept already serving in a squad, she even got to see some action too, she was involved in a pirate raid and did rather well and got made squad leader for it, Logan congratulated her and told her to be careful. The school helped him get to his jiu-jitsu classes as long as it didn't interfere with his studies which Logan thought was just a way to keep him out of trouble, but he didn't mind. Logan was determined never to end up back on the streets since this chance fell into his lap he ran with it, he could still remember the kid that Finch so casually shot, he would never go back now, for the first time he felt he had friends he could really rely on, he did however keep his past to himself the only thing he told people was that he was in the Reds and he got busted stealing a car but apart from that no one knew anything more and that's the way Logan preferred it to be.

Once he was eighteen he signed on to the Alliance as a Vanguard his engineering scores were far too low for him to be placed in Sentinel training and his weapons training made him more suited to a Vanguard than an Adept and after he completed basic training worked as part of a colony garrison for a few months, it was only a small colony so there was always something to do however he was only there until he signed up for special forces training so he would be sent to what they called 'The Villa' the hardest training in the Alliance, he spoke to Jamie telling her the news the night before he left, she wished him luck and promised a night out once he was done.

'The Villa' or 'N – school' had seven ranks each marked with the letter N followed by a number from one to seven each one tougher and harder than the last, to get in candidates train for 20 hours a day, leading small combat teams though hostile terrain with little food or sleep . Trainees that do well are awarded with an internal designation of N-1 and are invited to return. Subsequent courses N-2 to N-6 – are often held off-planet and include instruction in zero-gravity combat, military free-fall (parachuting), jet-pack flight, combat diving, combat instruction, linguistics, and front-line trauma care for human and alien biology. There was no shame however if they failed in any of the tasks given to them they were out of the program, as a result it wasn't uncommon for soldiers to reach the rank of N-1 but no further. Only one in every hundred make it past N-1 and even less make to N-7.

"This you maggots, is washout lane" the Gunnery Chief Emerson told them on Logan's first day at the 'Villa' "anytime you have had enough, anytime you miss your mummies, just walk down washout lane and ring the motherfucking bell" the chief yelled "that is your only out now you pussies" he told them before getting in the face of one of the recruits "you all belong to me now" he said "I am in the business of making art out of shit" Gunnery Chief Emerson told them "and from what I've seen I have never been given so much shit before so that means business is good" he said chuckling "now you either make the cut or you ring the fucking bell" he yelled "I will tell you right now only the best of you will make the cut, the rest of you WILL ring that bell I promise you that" Chief Emerson said "now boys and girls, we gonna have some fun"

Over the next month it seemed like Emerson was enjoying making life hell for all of the new recruits. Gunnery Chief Emerson was very good at his job and knew many tricks to get people to quit, one of his favorites was waking the recruits up with a fire hose or flash-bangs. After training for twenty hours to get woken up with flash-bangs was really not fun, however no matter what he tried he couldn't get rid of Logan. It was clear that Logan was a natural while the training was difficult but Logan thrived under the pressure and passed N-1 with little trouble, unlike most soldiers Logan went right into N-school as soon as he was able to and stayed at the 'Villa' until he passed each N rank until he got to N-5, his rapid rise though the 'the Villa' was unheard of and made him rather famous in the Alliance, even Jamie had heard and sent him a email congratulating him and invited him out drinking the next time he had shore leave to which Logan took her up on her offer, just like the last time they were together it didn't take long before they were once again in a quiet spot and having sex again, this time they were not interrupted.

Logan rose to the rank of Gunnery Chief when he had just passed N-5 training and was going to be sent on his first N-6 missions.

Logan was in the mess hall eating when he saw other soldiers running past him excited "What's going on?" Logan asked one of the soldiers running past him

"WE'RE GOING TO WAR!" the soldier yelled as he kept running to get ready and be sorted into squads Logan stood up and headed towards the lockers.

"Chief Shepard" Logan heard a voice behind him and turned around.

"Commander Anderson" Logan smiled "good to see you again sir" he said offering his hand after saluting to which Anderson saluted him back before shaking his hand

"Your progress though the villa made quite a few waves" Anderson said almost proudly "you will be joining me with the ground teams" he told Logan nodded smiling at the compliment

"Thank you sir" he said "I won't let you down sir" he said as Anderson shook his head

"I know that and stop with that 'sir' crap your making me feel old" he said laughing.

"So where are we going?" Logan asked not bothering with saying sir.

"Elysium" Anderson told him "it's under attack"

After finding out Elysium was under attack, Logan was placed into a squad with Commander Anderson and according to the files Logan had just read, the rest of his squad was, an Engineer named Corporal Jamal Hopkins, a large tank of a man who looked more like a soldier than an Engineer who was quiet and reserved while checking his gear then there was a Soldier, Service Chief Wesley Callaway, a clean cut pretty boy, who was telling anyone who would listen how he was going to kill more pirates than anyone else, a Infiltrator by the name of Lieutenant Melina Chavez, a short attractive woman who spoke softly but carried a big gun and was checking the sights on her rifle but not saying much then there was the Sentinel , Operations Chief Douglas McKay, who had the scars of dozens of battles across his face like a jigsaw puzzle and who was trying to get Callaway to shut up with little luck and last but not least an Adept, Corporal Rachel Marden, a tall woman who wouldn't look out of place on a cat walk and was telling jokes to Hopkins trying to get him to crack a smile but Hopkins remained quiet.

Logan walked in and could hear "looks like our newest squad member is here" Douglas said with a slight lisp which could only be from the deep scar running across one side of his mouth.

"Good, another biotic" Rachel added with a smile and a nod.

"That's me" Logan said with a smile as he checked his shotgun.

 He introduced himself and walked over to Jamal who only nodded and gave a smile and quiet hello and that was it.

"Don't mind him sir" said Rachel who smiled "he doesn't talk much" she told him "but he is a good guy" she said smiling.

"I didn't know you cared Marden" Jamal said quietly.

"He speaks!" she said laughing.

Wesley's booming voice could be heard over everyone else's "man, another biotic?" he asked "why do we need another biotic for? “ he asked Lieutenant Chavez "we already have two" he added before he realized Logan outranked him and was standing behind him, listening "sorry sir" he said saluting Logan just shook his head and chuckled

"And two of those outrank you" Logan reminded him "besides." Logan added "someone has to keep you jarheads from getting shot" he joked which also got a laugh from Rachel and Douglas and Wesley went quiet and walked away.

"You got him to finally shut the hell up" Douglas said offering his hand "I think I like you kid" he said with a slight chuckle Logan smiled nodding and headed over to talk to the second in command Lieutenant Chavez.

"I'm not here to make friends" she told him before he could say anything "just do your job and do it well" she told him while not looking at him "and you and I will get along just fine" she said.

Logan just raised an eyebrow "fair enough"

"Ok listen up" Commander Anderson said as he looked around the room he hadn't worked with any of them before but he had read their files "we are heading to Elysium" Commander Anderson said "two days ago it came under attack" he said pacing back and forth in front of them "early reports suggest we are dealing with slavers and pirates" he told them.

"Sir are the batarians involved?" Melina asked.

"Unknown" the commander answered looking at Chavez, Anderson knew she had grown up on Mindoir and after she had joined the Alliance. The colony had been attacked and burnt to the ground only thirty five people made it off the planet alive, some of which even joined the Alliance. But as a result, like many who escaped the attack, the event left her burning for revenge "we do know that there is a lot of batarians there but so far the Hegemony is denying the attack" Commander Anderson told them.

"But these pirates have to be getting funded somehow" Douglas said Anderson looked at the battle scarred man who was well known for two reasons, being injured more than any other soldier but always surviving and he also had a record of most times shot

"We don't know anything yet" he said.

"I only need to know one thing" Wesley said chuckling making a gun with his hand "where they are" he said chuckling which he quickly shut up when he saw Anderson staring at him

"You will get you chance, you will all get your chance" he told him, Anderson didn't really know what to make of Callaway, while the young man was skilled, he was also reckless and seemed to think he was invincible.

"Yes sir" Callaway said.

Anderson nodded and was about to continue when Logan spoke up and Anderson just listened, he often let his crew debate and talk freely it helped him understand them easier.

"makes sense" Logan said more to himself than anyone else and when he noticed that everyone else was looking at him to say more he added "the batarians give a heap of money to pirates then just sit back and watch the carnage" Logan said. Anderson remembered when he first met Logan, the young biotic had come a long way and was very determined at only twenty two Logan had moved fast Anderson also knew he was a member of the Reds, even if Logan never mentioned it much "let’s them deny everything, as well as making us look bad not being able to defend our colonies" Logan finished.

Anderson nodded "Yes well, despite that we have a job to do" he continued "Elysium is a tourist hot-spot" he told them "there will be non-humans there, so watch what you shoot" Anderson told them.

"Wait, two days ago?" Logan asked "two days is a long time to be under attack" he said "how is Elysium still standing?" he asked.

Anderson who was silent for a moment before answering "We have reports of a soldier down there" he answered "whoever it is has been holding them off for two days and seems to be the only reason the colony has lasted this long" Anderson said before looking around "alright get ready to drop we arrive in ten minutes".

Elysium's orbit was filled with ships, the pirate ships outnumbered the Alliance by at least five to one, but the fight was hardly fair, while outnumbered the Alliance was better trained and had better equipment making the fight more like slaughter. Logan was sitting inside a shuttle as it made its way down to the surface of Elysium.

"Two days is a long time to hold off pirate's" Lieutenant Chavez said disturbing the quiet on the shuttle.

"Yeah, they have to be on their last legs now" Logan said as Commander Anderson stood up.

"We will find out soon enough" he told them as the doors to the shuttle opened and he stepped off and motioned for the rest of the squad to follow.

Logan stepped out and quickly got into cover before moving forward, it wasn't long before they could hear the sounds of gunfire and as they rounded a corner they saw a group of pirate's three batarians and two krogan with their backs towards them, Anderson moved forward and opened fire dropping one krogan as the rest of the squad moved on the rest, Logan had charged his biotics and pushed his arm out in front of him and blue ball of energy fired from his fingertips hitting a batarian in the chest and sending the pirate flying backwards at least ten feet and with a loud sickening wet crunch the pirate hit a nearby wall and slowly slid down leaving a thick brownish blood trail down the wall, the rest of the squad made short work of the rest of the pirates as Op-Chief McKay overloaded the other krogans shields before using his biotics to lift the krogans massive frame off the ground and while the krogan was exposed shot him several times, Service Chief Callaway simply charged in a shotgun in his hands blew a large hole in the chest of another batarian almost cutting the alien in half and the last pirate was killed quickly after being hit with a powerful singularity field fired by Corporal Marden which was like being hit with a miniature black-hole, once they were all down the squad moved forward.

"Good work" Anderson told them "we need to head to the centre of town" he told them "that's where the resistance is the strongest" he explained.

As Logan moved though the colony the smell of death and burning flesh was everywhere, dead civilians littered the streets some left where they fell, others were dragged into large bonfires, as the squad rounded a corner the came across an asari with her back to them, she was pumping on the chest of a human man.

"Don't you die on me" she said with tears filling her eyes "Steven, please" she begged she turned quickly when she heard them "please help him" she begged.

Logan looked at the man and knew he was too late "I'm sorry" he said "he is dead" he told her helping her up to her feet as the rest of the squad checked the perimeter "he wouldn't want you to die here" Logan told her "head east" he told her "you will find Alliance there they will keep you safe" he said as she nodded wiping the tears from her eyes and walked away.

Logan and the squad moved on, silent from what they had just seen "So she seemed pretty upset" Wesley said breaking the silence "I mean for an alien crying over a dead human" he added "never thought I'd see that" he said He was about to say something else when Anderson spoke up.

"Non-humans care about humans they know" he told him "living here, she most likely knew a lot of people here" Anderson said "besides I'm pretty sure he was her bond mate" he said to Wesley "this was her home, remember that" he said

Wesley nodded "We will stop the bastard's" he said his face grim.

After leaving the asari the squad moved closer to the centre of town and came across a platoon of pirate's, Anderson ordered them to spread out before giving the order to open fire and shot one pirate though the face spraying the pirate beside him in brains before he too suffered the same fate. Jamal overheated two of the pirate's weapons as Rachel launched a warp field into the pirate's, the warp field shredded the solid matter of anything it touched the pirate's armour was no different and neither was his body as it was ripped apart at a molecular level. Douglas overloaded the shields of a small group of pirate's that were too close together as Melina hung back and covered them from a distance with her rifle and vaporized the head of a pirate before moving onto the next one while Logan and Wesley moved in closer as Logan lifted a group of five into the air leaving them open to Callaway who blew them apart with his shotgun.

Anderson looked around as the rest of the squad finished off the rest, Logan walked back over to Anderson and heard a pirate still alive as he walked past without looking at him Logan calmly shot him two more times and kept walking forward. Something that didn't slip Anderson's notice since this was Logan first time in combat he didn't seem fazed like most soldiers did after their first battle in fact he seemed to be more relaxed.

Closer to the centre Logan saw a group of humans holding assault rifles and pointing them at a turian mother with her young daughter just feet from them was a young human boy, he had been shot in the head his family also could be seen nearby just as dead. "Guess you cuttlefish picked the wrong colony to visit" one human said using a racial slur for turians

"You monster" the turian spat "you are traitor's to your own people" she said as one human laughed and pointed a gun at her daughter's head.

"You should speak nicer to someone with a gun" he said laughing then suddenly his head exploded before another pirate had his brains evicted.

Melina smirked and took aim again, as Logan moved his open hand out before drawing his hand back towards himself pulling three pirate's towards him, Logan slammed the barrel of his shotgun into the mouth of one pirate knocking teeth out and leaving the barrel stuck inside the pirate's mouth well until Logan pulled the trigger blowing the pirate off the end of his shotgun as Logan turned to the right he shot the other pirate in the chest almost ripping him two before he launched another biotic ball of energy at the last remaining one sending him flying into a wall with a splat his remains stayed where they impacted with the wall.

The young turian girl broke free of her mother's arms and ran over to the human boy he looked no older than eight she had to be around the same age "Mother we have to help him" she begged, the mother was staring at the Alliance soldiers before she joined her daughter by the side of the dead boy.

"I am sorry young one" she told her "there is nothing we can do" she told her as she closed the young boys eyes

"But mother he said he loved me" the young turian cried "he can't die" she cried over the death of the first boy who kissed her, to her it didn't matter the boy was a human

"Spirits guide this one" she prayed before standing up and looking at the Alliance soldiers "are we free to go?" she asked looking nervous Anderson walked over to her as the rest of squad checked the corpses.

"We are here to help" Anderson told her as she tried to comfort her daughter.

"She had become very close with this boy and his family" she told Anderson her head hanging low "We all did" she explained Anderson nodded and told her where to head for safety.

Logan was checking on of the corpses when he found a strange tattoo, a simple pyramid with a fist holding a heart in front of it.

"What have you got?" Melina asked crouching down beside him.

"I know that tattoo" he told her.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"Aztec's" Logan answered "earth gang" he explained.

"What do you know about them?" Anderson asked after he had walked over.

"I spent my childhood avoiding them" Logan explained making sure to word it right "slaver gang" Logan said "real cold blooded killers, they only care about profit" Logan told them "and they look at being locked up as a badge of honour, so they won't talk to save their own ass" Logan said taking out his energy drink that all biotics were given to help recharge.

"Ok then" Anderson said before adding "I will talk to you about this later for now let's get moving" he said.

As they made their way to the town centre they could hear single loud booming shots.

"Sniper" Melina said as soon as she heard the sounds before adding "one of ours" she added after hearing another shot.

Once they came to the town centre they could see a large clock tower in the distance and on the street there was dead pirate's everywhere most of them had been shot in the head or the chest "Impressive shooting" Melina said nodding as she could see a lone pirate not even six feet away being shot in the head.

"FRIENDLIES!" they could hear being yelled from the clock tower.

 They could see the doors to the tower open and dozens of civilians walk out followed by a very tired looking Alliance soldier holding a sniper rifle "Man is it good to see you guys" he said smiling, bags under his eyes showed he hadn't slept in days.

"What's your name soldier?" Anderson asked.

"William Hawke sir" he said saluting Anderson.


	3. Meeting the Hero of Elysium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan has begun his service by serving during the Blitz. If your wondering what my Shepard looks like here he is ID .LTF. . .16H.141.1G2.E36.6

On the shuttle leaving Elysium, Logan sat down near Hawke but didn't say anything; he only listened as Hawke was telling everyone what happened in the two days before reinforcements arrived.

"So it was chaos" he said "people running everywhere, being shot as they tried to get away" Hawke told them "the garrison unit ended up all over the place, so we had small pockets of resistance all over the city" Hawke said.

"I made it to the clock tower, a few civilian's followed me in" he said as he took a drink of water "once inside I blocked the doors and made my way to the top" Hawke told them.

His eyes were half closed, he would have taken stimulants to keep himself awake and they were still in his system so sleep would not be a possibility for awhile yet.

"I got myself a bird's nest" he said smiling "full view all around me, high ground and no cover for them" he explained "it was like shooting fish in a barrel" he told them "once I started shooting pirates, civilians headed towards the tower luckily they bought food, water and weapons with them"

"So how many did you tag?" Lieutenant Chavez asked

"On the first day?" Hawke asked before thinking to himself

"Two hundred and fifty six" he answered "give or take" he told her "second day I shot around three hundred and eighty nine" he casually explained "and the third day when you guys showed up I had already shot…" Hawke said before thinking "one hundred and twenty" he told them "but it was still early after all" Hawke explained

"How the hell did you get so many?" Logan asked

Hawke looked at him "No cover" he started to explain "and there were a lot of them, they filled the streets" he said taking another drink of water "it would of been hard to miss"

"You did one hell of a job Gunnery Chief Hawke" Anderson said proudly.

"Shepard, I need to talk to you in private" Anderson told him after speaking to Hawke and lead Logan to his office

"So how do you know these Aztec's?" he asked Logan once inside the office and the door was closed

"As I said, I avoided them when I was a kid" Logan explained

"There is more to it than that" Anderson said "I don't care what you did before you joined the Alliance" Anderson told him "I only want to know who they are" Anderson added

Logan sighed before answering "slaver gang" he explained as he sat down "they would roll though the streets at night grabbing anyone that they found" he said "kids were worth more to them so they were always looking out for them" he said "any guy they came across that they thought they wouldn't be able to sell as slaves they would kidnap them and force them to work in mine's" he said calmly "women that didn't measure up to be sold as slaves were gang raped and discarded"

"Where were your parents?" Anderson asked

"Never knew them" Logan said looking down at his hands "I ran from the orphanage when I was five, took my chances on the streets"

"So how did you end up in the Reds?" Anderson asked

"They offered" Logan explained "I did a few jobs for the Reds, some of those jobs were against the Aztec's" Logan said

"What do you mean by jobs?" Anderson asked

Logan sighed before looking at Anderson deciding if he should lie or not, in the end he decided to tell the truth well some of it anyway "I stole from them" Logan said watching Anderson's reaction while running a hand though his brown hair

Anderson looked at the young man closely before asking another question "What else can you tell me about them?"

"I know the police could never get them to talk" he said "they find Alliance prisons to be a joke" Logan said "besides based on what they do to people who betray them, it's unlikely any of them will talk if captured"

Logan said while studying Anderson's face thinking that he was going to be kicked out of the Alliance now "They only care about profit" Logan told him "they kill for fun and torture for pleasure" Logan added "human garbage"

After a moment of silence before he looked up at Anderson and sighed "So am I going to be kicked out now?" he asked

Anderson who studied Logan he knew Logan was not telling him the full truth, since gangs did not normally let people steal from them but he decided that he would let him keep his secrets "No, that was you then not now" he said "I won't be telling anyone what you just told me"

Logan smiled "Thank you sir" he said "I won't let you down" he said.

Over the next few weeks William Hawke was seen everywhere, hailed as a hero on all the news vids and had become rather famous Logan was sure he would be driven insane if he was treated like that, while the attack on Elysium was also spoken about at length and the Batarian Hegemony denied and condemned the attack however this was seen as a lie but since the Alliance couldn't prove it they were forced to only target pirate and slaver groups and not batarian colonies.

Logan was still thinking about Anderson and why he wouldn't tell anyone about Logan's past, but if Anderson was a man of his word then Logan would be allowed to stay in the Alliance.

As it turned out the squad was given shore leave and went out to celebrate Jamal and Rachel had a date planned so everyone left them alone, Wesley was watching the game with a few other marines, Douglas had a poker tournament and was doing surprisingly well and was on the final table which left Melina and Logan at a bar by themselves which Melina spent the whole time drinking heavily by herself until Logan joined her at the bar.

"You did well" Melina said.

"Thanks" Logan said proudly taking a shot of rum and shaking his head as it burned on its way down.

"That wasn't the first time you have killed someone was it?" she asked.

"What makes you say that?" Logan asked while downing another shot.

Melina turned to look at him and lowered her voice "I have friends who live on earth" she told him "they tell me the Reds are not to be fucked with and I know you have that tattoo" she said lifting up his sleeve on his shirt "plus you knew those guys" she told him.

Logan looked at her "I knew of them" he told her "so what difference does it make?" he asked her while trying to be polite.

Melina nodded as she poured herself another drink "It doesn't" she told him "I just want to know who I am fighting alongside" she said.

Logan studied her for a moment "Fair enough" he said "I have shot people before but only in self defence" he lied truth was, not that he was proud of it but he had quite a body count.

Melina smirked "If you say so" she said as she poured him a drink "cheers" she said as he held his glass up and then finished his drink.

Logan was silent for a moment before speaking up "So was Mindoir as bad as Elysium?" he finally asked.

Melina was quiet before she answered "Worse" she said simply.

Logan nodded "You ok? I imagine seeing another colony like that would of bought up some bad memories" he stated.

Melina looked at him before answering "Let me tell you a story" she said "there is a man walking though a warzone and he comes across a dead kid that was been killed by a explosion, he cries and says "how could this happen" and "what a shame" and stays there for a few hours even digging the kid a grave" she said "after he is done he walks down the road and after a few miles comes across a dead family and he looks down at them and says "what a shame" and keeps walking" she told him as she finished her drink "after a few more miles he sees a school bus and dozens of kids are dead and burning he doesn't even look at them he just keeps walking he just doesn't care anymore" she finished.

Logan listened quietly before adding "That is a pretty fucked up way of looking at things Ma'am" he said.

Melina only shrugged "It is sometimes the only way of seeing things" she told him finishing her drink and standing up "Well I am going to see how Douglas is doing" she said as she walked away.

Logan looked around at the dancers to see if there was one free, he could see an asari waving him over "You after a dance honey?" she asked him with a big smile on her face.

Sitting down Logan placed his bottle on the table and poured himself a drink and leaned back with any luck this lap dance will turn out better than the first lap dance he had gotten off an asari.

After a few minutes of silence just watching her dance, lost in his own thoughts before he spoke up "So been working here long?" he asked her.

The dancer looked at him "For about a year now" she answered "your with the Alliance?" she asked to which Logan only nodded and took another drink.

"I was going to join the military" she told him "well the asari military anyway" she added in case there was any confusion.

"Why didn't you?" Logan asked pouring another glass and downing before pouring another drink.

"Because I love this job" she said smiling as she rolled over onto her back and spread her legs in time with the beat kicking them into the air "I get plenty of money, all I can drink and humans talk while getting a lap dance" she chuckled "you won't believe me but only humans talk during a lap dance" she explained "turian's just stare" she told him "krogan just make grunting noises"

"Asari pretend they aren't looking when they are" she said "Creepy" she added "but humans will almost always talk, I like that" she said smiling.

"I didn't think us humans would be that interesting to talk to" Logan said as he watched her dance.

"Oh don't get me wrong" she explained "it's not all interesting, but at least there is a chance for to talk" she said smiling.

Logan nodded as he thought about that "Hey so what about salarians?" he asked.

The dancer just stopped for a moment "They are the worst" she told him "they act as if getting a lap dance is a scientific experiment" she said laughing.

Logan laughed and looked at the dancer as she slid down the pole "I was on Elysium" he told her.

"I am sorry to hear that" she said.

Logan looked at her and decided she had meant what she said "there was an asari there, she was trying to restart the heart of a human, her bond mate" he told her "I didn't think I would see that" he said.

The dancer nodded and slowed her dancing down "We non-humans are not that different from humans you know" she said "we care for those around us" she explained.

Logan nodded "Yeah I'm learning that" he said.

Hours later Logan was staggering back to the ship he was serving on when he saw Jamie "Hey!" he shouted out happily clearly drunk.

Jamie turned to look at her friend and saw him drunk "How much have you had?"

Logan thought for a moment before holding up two fingers "That many" he slurred.

Jamie raised a eyebrow "I doubt you only had two bottles" she said.

Logan frowned "Two...*hic*...cases" he explained before chuckling to himself "hey did you know you're not allowed to climb on stage to dance with the strippers?" he asked her.

Jamie raised her eyes and shook her head "You didn't?" she asked.

Logan shook his head "no of course not" he said "krogan bouncer stopped me" he slurred chuckling to himself "and made me put my clothes back on"

"You stripped?" Jamie asked.

Logan turned his head and winked at her "Well I thought it was only fair since she was naked" he said as stumbled towards the ship he serving on, the SSV Darwin

Jamie shook her head "here let me help you" she said as she helped him inside the ship and towards his bunk 'you know alcohol is normally taken internally" she said before asking "you ok?"

Logan looked at her for a moment before answering "yeah, I'm fine" he could tell that she was worried about him and Logan just didn't understand why, her worry for him just made him uncomfortable.

Jamie stayed silent before adding 'well it is going to get worse before it gets better" she told him as she helped him into his bunk and started getting him undressed "Well I don't know if you have heard but we are going to be working together" she told him "Alliance is increasing raids on known pirate strongholds, so they are swapping people around, your squad and mine will be working together" she explained.

"What's your squad like?" he asked her.

"Great" she answered "they are good people, they have saved my ass more than once" she told him.

"I look forward to meeting them" Logan said smiling.

Jamie smiled as she put him into his bunk "get some sleep we have a raid tomorrow" she told him, she wasn't sure if he had heard her as he had passed out by that stage.

The next morning Logan woke up with a massive hangover which didn't help listening to the mission briefings, the Alliance was planning a number of raids. First raid was going to be on a space station, the space station would have intelligence on pirate and slaver activity in the area which the Alliance needed to chase down those responsible for Elysium.

Logan was on a shuttle heading towards the space station with his squad while Jamie's squad would be looking for Intel, Logan's squad would be taking care of the pirates and planting charges around the station to destroy it. Once the shuttle touched down they quickly moved off the shuttle and towards their first targets, Logan made his way though the narrow hallways ignoring the alarms blaring throughout the station, a group of pirates entered the room four batarian's and a krogan.

Logan took aim but before he could fire he was thrown backwards by a blue ball of energy and hit the wall with a thud he recovered quickly and took cover "damn it" he said to himself "watch your selves they have biotics" he said over the radio "copy that" he heard the response, Logan could see the rest of his squad taking on the pirates.

Wesley was laying down covering fire while Melina took aim and killed one pirate while Jamal was circling around to flank the pirates and once he was in position he hit them with a sabotage overheating their weapons before Rachel threw a warp at them killing one but the others dived out of the way.

More pirates were joining the fight bringing with them another four more batarian's and another two krogan, one of the krogan launched a biotic throw which hit Wesley in the chest sending him flying backwards while Rachel threw her own biotic throw towards the krogan sending him into a wall where Melina took aim and blew the top of the krogan's head clean off, Jamal overloaded one batarian's shields while Douglas launched a warp field at the batarian the warp field disintegrated his armour before doing the same to his stomach and killing him while another krogan charged at Logan tackling him though a door and into what looked like a small medical bay.

Logan saw a krogan fist heading towards his face and barely avoided it by moving his head to one side at the last minute the krogan's fist slamming into the wall leaving a dent where Logan's head would've been just moments before, firing back Logan punched the krogan in the throat before reaching for his knife, the krogan was too close for Logan to use his biotics effectively and if he tried it would give the massive alien a chance to tear his head off. Logan got his knife out and went on the attack stabbing the krogan once in the stomach, a non-lethal wound which only seemed to piss the alien off, the krogan head butted Logan breaking his nose before running him into a table his hand around Logan's wrist making sure he could not use the knife again, Logan tried to trip the krogan but the sheer weight and size of his opponent meant the both of them ended up on the ground with the eight-hundred pound krogan on top of him.

The wind driven from his lungs Logan could feel his hand holding the knife be slowly moved towards him, Logan could see the krogan smiling as the tip of the blade was only inches from his face "Good fight human" the krogan said smirking as he pushed his weight down on the blade sending the knife closer and closer towards Logan's face "not good enough" the krogan said as the blade drew even closer.


	4. Desperate not Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan's past comes back to bite him.

Logan could smell the krogan's breath as the krogan pushed the knife even closer towards Logan's face, moving one hand up to the krogan's face before driving a thumb all the way into the krogan's eye socket at the same time as lifting his knee into the krogan's groin, the krogan reacted by screaming in pain and pushing the knife all the way down quickly, Logan barely avoided the blade by moving his head out of the way and turning to one side, groaning in pain as he could feel the blade slicing though the right side of his mouth cutting though his upper lip and lower lip before the blade finally stopped at his chin and made purchase with the floor.

His thumb still in the krogan's eye Logan shifted to one side trying to get out from underneath the krogan, still holding onto the knife he shifted until there was space between him and the krogan, Logan could feel the krogan's grip on his knife hand loosen and took the chance to slash the krogan across the face forcing the alien to rear back in pain.

Now that Logan had some room he removed his thumb from the krogan's eye and quickly charged up a biotic throw, he launched the krogan into the ceiling however he couldn't generate enough force to really do any damage so the krogan bounced off the ceiling and headed right back down, rolling out of the way the krogan missed landing on him by inches, recovering the krogan went to stand back up but got a kick to the face, while Logan was getting his pistol out and fired at the krogan hitting in the chest but it didn't even slow the massive alien down, screaming in a blind rage the krogan went to tackle him again but was hit with a biotic throw again this time he went flying though a table and into the wall behind it, as the krogan hit the wall Logan shot the krogan face and spraying his brains against the wall.

"Try getting up from that fucker!" Logan said before feeling the pain in his face.

Logan put on hand to his face and felt the corner of his mouth, noticing that his lips on the right side of his face were hanging down, taking medi-gel out and applying it to his face, he knew it would have to be treated later but for now it will keep his face intact, he also noticed his nose was whistling every time he breathed out though his nose but since he didn't know how bad it was broken he left it alone. Once that was done Logan put his pistol away and took out his shotgun and headed back out into the hallway, as the door opened a surprised batarian stood there, as soon as they both saw each other they tried to shoot, Logan fired first while the batarian was still raising his weapon, behind him Logan could see the rest of his squad still alive and a small group of pirates of five, Logan fired on one cutting him down before throwing a grenade into the last remaining group.

"GRENADE!" one of the pirates yelled as the dived for cover but were too late, the explosion sent fragments flying into the group who were confined in the small enclosed space.

Wesley stood up and helped Douglas back to his feet before he saw Logan "holy shit, your face" he said as he came over to have a closer look "it looks like it tried to stop a truck" he joked

Logan chuckled "No, just a krogan" he told him "let's get moving before they come back"

Melina who was in charge of this mission nodded "agreed" she said "move out" she ordered "team two, how are you doing?"

"All good, we are almost at the control room now" the reply came over the radio.

Making their way deeper into the station, the squad taking down any pirate they came across and drawing attention away from the other team while planting demolition charges along the way.

"Ok we got the data" the other team reported "heading to evac now"

"Copy that" Melina said before turning to the rest of the squad "we almost done?" she asked.

"We are now"" Douglas told her Melina nodded "good work, now let's get moving"

Heading towards the evac the squad had to fight though more pirates and once again there was biotics, however the squad had quickly become a successful fighting unit, fighting as one instead of individuals like the pirates, Douglas and Jamal overloaded the shields, Melina took aim and fired, one shot for every kill, Wesley would draw their fire gunning any down that were stupid enough to try and run while Rachel and Logan worked side by side throwing biotic throws and warps making short work of whoever was left "Hostiles down" Melina said as she started to move again "McKay?" she asked

Douglas shot a wounded pirate in the head as he answered "yes Ma'am?" he asked

"Start blowing this place" she told him "we are almost at the EVAC now and maybe those explosions will keep them busy" she said putting her breathing mask back on and ordering them to do the same, after they all had their masks on Melina nodded to Douglas giving him the signal.

Douglas laughed "They will do more than that" he said as he pushed the button to set off the first bomb they had planted.

BOOOOM! The explosion ripped three decks in half venting dozens of pirates into space.

As they kept running fighting as they went, they came across a group of six krogan and three asari who went to cover straight away and began by launching biotic attacks at them while the krogan laid down cover fire and moved in closer Logan used his biotic's to rip the assault rifle out of a krogan's hands before Wesley fired his assault rifle ripping though the krogan's shields before ripping though his armor and causing the krogan's stomach contents spill onto the floor, Rachel launched a singularity lifting another three krogan upwards and into the line of fire where they were gunned down by Jamal.

Douglas pushed the button again. BOOOOM!

The second explosion tore apart the life support systems, the space station was now without air, any pirate unlucky enough to be on those decks without a enviro-suit on would be dead. What was left of the pirate squad were rocked by the explosion and began to suffocate; a few of them went to put breathing masks on but were gunned down before they had a chance, Logan followed the rest of them as they quickly headed for the evac shooting any pirates that got in their way, making it to the shuttle, Logan's squad were the last ones to leave.

Logan could see a member of the other team being carried over the shoulders of another soldier but couldn't make out who it was. The shuttles left the space station and moved to get out of the blast radius Douglas pushed the button again and after he waited a few moments pressed it again.

BOOOM! The third explosion ripped though power systems on the station and along with it gravity, it also set off a chain reaction of smaller explosions around the station.

BOOOM! The final bomb blast tore though vital supports causing the top half of the station to collapse into the lower half before the whole station exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Logan was taken straight to the med bay once they returned, the doctor started to remove the medi-gel and Logan could feel the right side of his mouth open up again and started bleeding again he gritted his teeth in pain before the doctor stitched him up, taking her time, she carefully made sure his lips were lined up right otherwise it would make eating a problem or at least give him a lisp like the one Douglas had.

Once his face was stitched up she took a step back as if inspecting her work before nodding as if happy with herself before she went to reset his nose.

"This will hurt" she warned him.

"Just get it over with" Logan told her.

"Oh, tough guy huh?" she asked as she straightened his nose with a very loud crunch.

Logan gritted his teeth but didn't make a noise once she was finished, he sniffed a few times before nodding "thanks doc, that whistling was getting annoying" he said.

The doctor just smiled and shook her head "you're welcome" she said.

"Logan! Thank god you are all right" Jamie said running in and giving him a hug "I have already lost one friend today, I didn't want to lose another. What happened?" she asked.

Logan took a sip from his energy drink before answering "Had a knife fight with a krogan" he answered.

Jamie raised her eyebrows "a knife fight with a krogan?" she asked "why would you want to do that for? Are you trying to kill yourself?" she asked.

Logan sighed, all this worry for him was getting old "I didn't plan it" he told her "he charged, got in close, tried to stab me with my own knife and I talked him out of it" he explained.

Jamie looked at him "talked him out of it?"

Logan didn't answer instead just traced a finger along his throat to which Jamie just nodded "fair enough" she said

"So you knew the guy who was shot?" Logan asked.

Jamie nodded sadly "yeah I did, she was a friend of mine, we were in basic training together" she told him.

Logan nodded "You ok?, it's never easy seeing a friend killed"

Jamie smiled weakly and said "yeah, I will be fine"

Logan studied her for a moment longer before he said "Ok just making sure".

Over the next few months Logan was sent to six different raids and his squad made it through with no casualties, although many other squads were not so lucky, one in every ten marine's were killed in action and surprisingly the pirates sometimes took captives although no marine caught were ever seen again. Logan had also become good friends with Op-Chief Douglas McKay who had taught him how to play poker and the two of them spent a lot of their spare time in between missions playing poker and on shore leave would sometimes enter poker tournaments however Logan could never beat the battle scarred Sentinel, Logan spent most of his shore leave with a random women, a fact that seemed to annoy Jamie which only confused Logan but he didn't let it bother him.

Intelligence gained from raiding the pirate space station had lead them to a colony called Korlus, a starship graveyard for the most part and unbearably hot, it was being used as a staging base for the Aztecs, unfortunately they knew they were coming and were ready for them. Cannons shot down two shuttles and damaged Logan's shuttle, the shuttle hit hard and slid to a stop, Logan and the rest of them got out of the shuttle while the pilot worked to get it repaired, once they had gotten out of the shuttle they spread out a few more shuttles landed but where all over the place and unlikely to be much help.

Pirates were coming to check out the shuttle crash, moving though the rundown buildings and across the broken walkways and once in position they opened fire, over thirty Aztecs surrounded them from all sides.

"Take cover" Commander Anderson ordered who had just returned from completing a series of black op missions not that he ever told anyone about it so Melina was back to being second in command.

Logan threw one Aztec fifteen feet with biotic's before shooting another in the chest, Anderson threw a grenade causing a blast that sent a group of them into the air and causing the rest nearby to run for cover leaving them exposed to weapons fire. The Aztec's had the numbers but did not work together making them somewhat easy pickings for the squad however due to the sheer numbers didn't seem to matter how many were killed, wave after wave kept coming. Logan saw one Aztec with a rocket launcher and had just enough time to shout a warning out before the rocket went flying past him and headed right towards the shuttle, sending debris flying in all direction as the squad ran for cover and were quickly separated and pinned down.

Logan had managed to get to safety well out of the way of the blast but was now on his own, he threw a grenade but had no time to see how many it took out and since they were quickly surrounding him he needed to move and since they had blocked off where he had come from he headed away from the downed shuttle.

"Hey you guys still alive?" he asked into the radio shooting another Aztec, catching him in the lower half of the body "anyone read do you copy?" he asked again but got no answer "shit" Logan said to himself.

Throwing another grenade, realizing the Aztec's could have a jamming tower which would be blocking any comm signals. As Logan moved forward avoiding enemy fire he used his biotic's to pull a group of four down off a wall and sent them falling to their death, narrowly missing another rocket. Logan went skidding down a long slope before coming to a stop at the bottom, he needed to find the jamming tower if he had any hope of getting in contact with the rest of his squad, he could hear the fighting in the distance so he knew they were still alive, he just needed to reach them.

Moving though the rundown buildings, Logan dropped two more as he moved towards the jamming tower, Logan could see another pirate armed with a rocket launcher take aim and fire, the rocket flew towards Logan who was already running away from it and dived though a window as the rocket exploded against the wall where Logan was moments before. The problem was that Logan was higher up than he thought he was, as the ground rushed up towards him he tried to use his biotic's to slow himself down, something he had never done before.

"C'mon slow down" Logan said to himself as the ground headed closer towards him.

 He had managed to slow himself down enough that the fall wouldn't kill him but that didn't mean he had a good landing. Logan's knee felt strange as he stood back up, he looked around before he was thrown into a wall, looking up he could see a asari charging up another attack and then everything went dark. Logan woke up sometime later to a punch to the head, he was stripped to the waist and both of his hands were in shackles and he was in a dark room with his back against a wall.

"I wouldn't think about using those biotic's of yours" said the only other person in the room with him and the same man who had punched him in the head "see these shackles?" he asked "kinetic or biotic sensitive" he explained "try and use them and BOOM" he said clapping his hands loudly "and those shackles crush both your hands off" he said laughing before punching him again "now you are going to tell us everything that the Alliance is doing and maybe we will kill you quickly" he said chuckling.

Logan looked around the darkened room and saw there was a small man that he hadn't seen before sitting at a computer and looked to be waiting for what Logan could only guess, Logan could also see a large table with a large selection of knives, a drill and even a blowtorch. Underneath Logan's feet was a dark crimson stain on the floor from the blood of past victims, as he studied the room he couldn't help but notice the smell of death that lingered in the room as well as the smell of other bodily fluids, pressed against a wall Logan knew he wasn't the first marine to be bought here and the first chance he got he would escape, the question was how.

"We already know who you are" he said holding up his dog tags "we just need to know where the Alliance ships are and what their next plans are" the man said "tell me and I will kill you quickly" he said "mess me around and I will take my time" he said grabbing Logan by the throat and moving his head close "so what's it going to be?"

Logan remained silent and spat in his face

The man wiped the spit from his face "Hard way it is" he said before walking over to the table "see this?" he said holding up the blowtorch "this can turn metal into butter what do you think it will do to you?" he asked before moving onto something else

Logan said nothing as the man continued to explain what he was going to do to Logan and was going over each detail, the man even told him he was going to use a power drill on his ankles and use a spoon to remove his eyes but "we will save that one for last, I want you to see everything" he told Logan

"This is the way I got the last marine to talk" the man said "this is how we knew you were coming" he said laughing as he picked up a small needle "see this?" he asked "this is a fire needle" he explained "see they have a powder or a chemical on them, I'm not really sure on how they work, I just know they burn like the sun" he said before chuckling and walking closer, letting Logan see the needle before he slowly pushed it into Logan's stomach.

Logan screamed in agony as the needle felt like the needle was burning him on the inside before he could feel another being pushed into his skin. The man took his time with that and had pushed five of those fire needles into his stomach

The man pushed another needle into his bicep and was about to place one underneath his finger nail when he saw the Red tattoo on the inside of his forearm.

"Oh look what we have here" The man said smiling "and here I thought you were just a soldier and here you are deserving the V.I.P treatment" he said laughing as he put the needles away and held up a blowtorch in one hand and a blade in the other "so we should get rid of that tattoo" he said chuckling "what do you prefer?" he asked "cut it off or burn it off?" he asked smiling the whole time "choose quickly or I will just try both"

Logan cursed silently before giving his answer "Burn it" he said as he prepared for the pain

The man seemed happy with his choice "Good idea" he said laughing

Putting the knife down and turned on the blowtorch and adjusting the flame until it was light yellow-blue in colour and slowly pressed against his tattoo, the pain was instant Logan was screaming in agony right away as the flame burnt his flesh and began to fill the room with smoke and the smell of burning meat, that's when Logan passed out from the pain

"Hmm, you are starting to smell good" the man said laughing "might have to have a barbeque" he said laughing at his own joke before he noticed Logan had passed out "don't worry I'll wait to finish this".

Once Logan woke up he could see the man still in the room talking to the small man at the computer "Once he starts talking I want you to check out everything he says" the man told him

"And what if he doesn't know anything?" the small man asked "all this could be a waste of time" he said sounding as if he didn't quite have the stomach for witnessing torture.

The man looked at him "I get you in the Aztec's and now you want to bitch about it?" he snarled before slapping the other man hard across the face "you're in the Aztec's now and if you don't toughen up then you will be in there next" he said.

The small man backed down right away "No, it's not that" he said quickly holding up his hands "I just wanted to know what if he doesn't know anything?" he asked

The man smiled "Then he bleeds slowly and dies" he said before he noticed Logan was awake "Oh good, your awake" he said smiling "I know you think you won't talk" the man said "but trust me everyone talks eventually" he told him as he picked up the blowtorch again and walked closer to him "ready or not" the man mocked before he pressed the flame to Logan's skin.

Logan screamed in pain for what seemed like hours before it was burnt off and the man let Logan recover for a short time leaving the man at the computer in the room with him.

"You're not like the others" Logan said to the small man "what's your name?" Logan asked.

The small man seemed to jump at the sound of his voice "Sam" he answered "And you don't know me" he said sounding defensive

Logan smirked to himself "I can guess" he said before looking at Sam "I'm guessing you never had a family" he said studying Sam's reaction and when he shifted uncomfortably Logan knew he had hit a raw nerve "No, you had family" he corrected himself and noticed Sam tense up at his words "but they never did like you did they?" Logan continued "so they would beat you every chance they got" Logan said watching Sam's reaction which seemed to relax, which Logan knew could only mean he was off track "no, not beatings" Logan said "they did other things to you didn't they?" Logan asked

Sam stood up quickly and shouted at him "Shut up!" he yelled

Logan just nodded "Ok, we can talk later then Sam" he said as he tried to get some feeling into his shoulders, he could feel the shackles digging into his wrists and causing small bloody wounds to open up and trickle blood down his arms

The man moved over and slowly removed the fire needles and then moved to the table and grabbed a strange looking device before holding it up for Logan to see, the device was connected to a cord and sparks shot out from the end of it.

"This is where I stop playing around" the man warned Logan as he threw freezing cold water over him and pressed the device against his wet skin, shocking Logan with electricity and causing Logan's body to spasm painfully.

The man kept this up for another ten minutes before he stopped and punched Logan in the stomach a few times, Logan could feel a rib break as he gasped for air.

"All this can end right now" the man said "what is the Alliance planning?" he asked before punching him again this time in the face bloodying his mouth.

Lowering him to the ground the man had two others lift him up and place him on a table so his head was lower than his legs and placed a towel over his face as the other two men held Logan down, the man poured water onto the towel.

Logan instantly felt like he was under water and drowning, he struggled but the two men holding him down didn't budge, with his lungs on fire Logan resisted as best he could but it was a losing battle and after twenty seconds the water stopped being poured onto his face.

"Feel like talking yet?" the man asked him as he took the towel off his face.

The truth was that Logan didn't know what the Alliance's plans were he was too low on the pay grade to know that but the man didn't seem to care.

Logan gasped for air and once he had caught his breath he spat a glob of blood at the man hitting him in the face who slowly wiped it off before punching Logan again this time in the groin before placing the towel on his face again and continued to pour water.

Choking and gasping for air, Logan resisted against his captors as much as he could but passed out soon after.

"Shit we lost him!" the man said "get the paddles" as he went to revive Logan and restart his heart, bringing him back from death.

Slowly Logan came back to his senses, he noticed he was back in the shackles again against the wall, he took a deep breath and groaned at the pain his chest felt like it was on fire, he could see a first aid kit nearby and it dawned on him they had killed him by mistake and had to revive him. He could also see he was alone in the room with the small man at the computer again.

"Hey Sam" he spoke his voice dry and raspy "What happened?" he asked even though he could guess the answer.

"You died" he answered not looking at him.

Logan nodded and decided since he was alone with him he would start talking to him again "So Sam, I'm guessing you ran from home and were found by the Aztec's" he said watching for any sign from Sam that he was on the right track when he got silence and a slight shuffle in response he knew he was "So you join up, thinking no one will ever treat you like that again as long as you have protection of the Aztec's" Logan said as he continued to analyse Sam.

Sam stood up and looked at him before hitting an intercom button "He is awake" he said into the speaker.

The man walked back in moments later and looked very angry "Talk or I will cut you into little fucking pieces" the man warned grabbing Logan by the throat and when Logan thought he was going to pass out the man let go and walked away

The man seemed to be getting annoyed now and walked out of the room with a snarl and walked back in moments later holding a power saw.

"Talk or lose your legs" he warned him as he started the saw as started to move it towards his legs when an asari walked in.

The asari raised an eyebrow before she stopped the man "let me try" she said placing a hand on the man's shoulder "and this way afterwards we can do what we want to him without worrying if he will end up dead" she explained.

The man smiled "fair enough" he said before he kissed the asari "make him scream" he told her.

The asari chuckled "don't I always?" she said before she walked towards Logan, her hand running up his naked torso she grabbed his chin and looked into his eyes "try to relax" she told him "it will hurt less" she warned as her eyes went black.

Logan was prepared for almost anything however resisting a asari mind meld was not covered in 'N-school' and it didn't take long before he felt a presence in his mind and once he felt her in his mind he mentally pushed back using sheer willpower to keep her out, straining against her and against a migraine he had some luck resisting however he couldn't keep her out completely

"Ah, there you are" she said smiling at him her eyes still pitch black "your mind is mine now" she told him "resist all you want but I will get to know every embarrassing secret" she said chuckling as she walked away.

The asari turned back around holding a box "I want to show you my trophies" she said as she opened the box and inside Logan could see what could only be body parts, a human body part in particular "only the lucky guys end up in my box" she told him before grabbing him by the balls "play your cards right and you can too" she said running her hand along his chest "tell me are they gun barrel's or cocks?" she asked mocking him she must of took the memory straight from his mind "I know the difference human " she said smirking "I would have to know, I collect them" she laughed before walking back towards him and grabbing by sides of his face and looking into his eyes.

Logan again resisted her but it was pointless she invaded his mind with somewhat ease but she could only get access to his time before the Alliance not once he joined and that was mainly due to Logan resisting her so hard his nose started to bleed.

"Did you ever stop to wonder why your mother threw you away?" she asked him getting more memories from his mind "maybe it wasn't her" she said smiling "maybe it was you, maybe she didn't want to have a biotic for a son or maybe she took a look at you and thought she wouldn't get any money for you to score her next hit so she dumped you" the asari said her eyes still black as she continued to mock Logan.

The asari used the connection she had with his nervous system to cause pain to flare up all over his body as she took even more memories from his mind and used them to mock him "Ah, angel wings I have heard of that" she said "wouldn't work on asari though, our lungs are in a different place" she explained smiling "still after you have joined my trophy box, I think it's only fitting if you earn your wings" she told him her face lighting up at the possibility.

Pain spread like wildfire though out Logan's body as the asari triggered pain receptors in random places all over his body as Logan's screams echoed the small room he couldn't help but notice the small man over by the computer shifting uncomfortably

"Ah there's that lovely voice" she said as she triggered another massive shock to his nervous system

As more and more images of Logan assisting with giving people wings and even the killing of Ramon and his son "Oh you got all upset over one kid huh?" she mocked "hundreds of them die worse than that every day" she explained "you're a killer" she told him "just like us" she said smiling "a cold blooded psycho killer" she mocked

The melding was taking its toll on both of them "Well don't go anywhere sweetie" she said sweetly before she kissed him as Logan tried to pull away after a minute she stopped and smiled before turning and left the room as she massaged her temples.

Logan looked around and saw the small man at the computer looking for any information they had on him "Hey Sam" Logan rasped.

"Shut up I am not talking to you" Sam said.

Logan thought his next words carefully "So Sam you must be proud" he said.

"What?" Sam asked.

Logan lifted his head towards him "Yeah, I mean here you are all grown up safe" he said "your family can never touch you again" he continued "you won" Logan said as he watched Sam seemed happy of that fact "so how does it feel knowing your worse than your parents ever were?" Logan asked.

"What?" Sam asked he seemed stunned.

"Yeah, you're a real momma's boy huh?" Logan mocked

"You think I'm stupid?" Sam retorted "I am not listening to you"

Logan chuckled his voice raspy from screaming "Yeah I do" he answered "your no better than your parents, getting your jollies from torturing people, from other people's misery" he mocked "I bet it makes you feel like a big man" he sneered.

Sam had heard enough and stood up "Shut up" he said walking closer to Logan.

"Oh good comeback" Logan mocked "tell me did you have such witty one-liners your parents were using you? Or did that come later when you started torturing people?" he asked.

Sam screamed "SHUT UP!" he said as he moved even closer still and picked up a knife holding it like he was going to stab Logan.

He never got the chance as soon as he was close enough Logan lifted both legs up and pushed outwards slamming both feet into Sam's face causing Sam to stagger backwards and the knife to drop to the floor before Sam could recover though Logan had both legs around his neck tight and twisted suddenly snapping Sam's neck.

Logan had been thinking of ways to escape but none of his ideas looked promising but he needed to get out of here now. Glancing up at his shackles, he thought of how a fox would chew off its own paw to escape a hunters trap but Logan was desperate not crazy he was however willing to try the next best thing.

Straining against the shackles he twisted and pulled as he tried to get enough leverage to snap his own wrist and in the right spot as well, if he broke his wrist at the wrong spot it wouldn't do anything and he would hang there on a broken limb and he only had one shot for this to work.

A loud snap could be heard in the small room and Logan screamed in pain trying not to pass out and waited a moment to catch his breath before sliding his broken wrist though the shackle and using the blood from where the shackles were digging into his wrists as lubricant and he now had one arm free and after a short while later of doing the same to his other wrist which seemed to be easier to break, the pain was intense but he was at least free, he looked down at Sam's body before stomping him in the back of the head to make sure he was dead and prepared his next move.

The asari returned not to long after wards she was smiling when she entered the smile quickly left her face when she saw her prisoner was no longer were she had left him and Sam's lifeless body was on the floor where the prisoner should have been, she turned her head immediately to scan the room and if she had looked to her left instead of her right she would of seen the battered human lying in wait.

Pouncing as soon as he saw the asari Logan drove one knee into her ribs before slamming his head into the side of her face before lifting his head back up and slamming the back of his head into her chin, her biotics useless this close and under attack the impacts staggered her and knocked teeth out, Logan seeing his opening kept on the attack kicking her in the kneecap snapping her leg at the knee and sending a bone out the other side of her leg sending her to the ground and once there Logan kicked her in the face smashing the back of her head into the wall behind her, purple blood was flying everywhere as Logan stomped her head into the floor.

Logan was breathing heavy and his shoulders were numb he painfully moved his arms to in front of his body to protect them more if anything and quickly moved to the door and had a quick look outside seeing no one he left quietly


	5. Out of the pan and into the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan makes his escape.

Logan slowly made his way through the hallways, staying in the shadows and avoiding Aztec's which was hard due to Logan's injuries. Logan's shoulders felt numb and heavy and he was in pain all over and exhausted but since he was now free he wouldn't waste this chance and first things first he needed either medical attention or needed to find a comm channel so he could get some help.

Logan's injuries were bad but not life threatening, he had a broken rib and two broken wrists but it was his knee that was really bothering him, he must of landed on it wrong but since he could still move his knee it wasn't that bad.

In a room nearby three Aztec's were waterboarding a woman when they could hear the a knocking or loud bashing on the metal door, stopped what they were doing and one of the Aztec's went to the door to find out who was bashing on the door as soon as the Aztec opened the door everything went black and he saw nothing anymore.

Logan had come across another room based on the sounds he was hearing coming from inside the room he could tell that someone else was being tortured inside he kicked the door two times and backed up and waited for the door to open and once it was open Logan ran and jumped using his biotic's to lower his own body weight and propel himself forward with so much speed and sheer force the Aztec was almost decapitated from the force of his attack, surprising the other two Aztec's who let go of their captive to deal with the enraged and battered man, once landing Logan booted one man in the groin before knee him hard in the face with a loud crunch and knocking teeth out before Logan spun around with a roundhouse kick causing Logan's leg to grip the man's neck tight before a sudden twist with his legs caused the man's neck to snap. Standing back up Logan looked over at the only remaining Aztec still alive who was trying to hold his jaw in place and trying not lose more teeth and before he could recover Logan head-butted him breaking his nose and smearing the man's nose across his face and dropping him to the ground once there Logan stomped on the man's neck crushing his windpipe.

Logan winced from the pain in his ribs it was hurting to breathe, he just wanted to sleep.

"Can you walk?" Logan asked the woman as he stretched his bad knee and flexed his leg once he was happy that he could continue he slowly stood up.

The woman had been stripped naked and was shaken up badly "I…I think so" she said weakly.

"Look we need to get out of here" Logan said to her "If those men find us, what we just went through will seem like a vacation" he told her "I can get us out of here but you need to help me" he said "can you do that?" he asked.

The woman just nodded "Yeah" she said wiping her eyes "what do you need me to do?"

Logan smiled pleased that she was going to help "For now I just need you to be my arms" he said "what's your name?"

"Renee" the woman answered before she thought about what Logan needed her for "your arms?" she said before she noticed Logan's arm's hanging down and the tell-tale signs of his wrists been broken "holy shit, your arms!" she said.

Logan only nodded, he felt exhausted even more so now that he had used biotic's "Yeah I'm fine" he told her "not much we can do about them now, resetting them will take time and we don't have time for that" he told her "so let's move"

Renee looked worried but nodded "Ok I'm ready" she told him.

Logan smiled and moved towards the door "If you can find any weapons that would be great at a time like now" he said turning around he could see Renee had put on a pair of pants and was taking the jacket off one of the Aztec's he had killed before she grabbed a pistol and nodded to Logan.

"You ever fired one of those before?" Logan asked her.

"I spent some time playing that game where you have to shoot the holograms with lasers" she said before shrugging her shoulders "well it must sound pretty stupid to you"

Logan looked at her "Time for the real thing Renee" he told her "you aim for the head or the heart, anything else is your ass" he warned.

Renee nodded "I'm ready" she said

Once in the hallway, the two of them avoided a few Aztec's who moved past them Renee had wanted to shoot them but Logan had told her not to and to only do what he says.

"Listen we can't start a fight with every Aztec we see" he told her "we have to be smart"

Renee looked angry "So we just let them live?" she asked annoyed "after everything they had done?"

Logan shook his head "For now yes" he said "I am only one man" he told her "not a fucking army" he said.

Renee frowned "But you're a biotic" she said "can't you just kill them with that?" she asked.

Logan shook his head "Yes I am a biotic" he said "and I could normally" he said "but with my arms like this I have no way of focusing and aiming my biotic's" he explained.

"So what?" she said "I'll take cover and you do your thing"

Logan laughed out loud at that "Let me try and explain" he said as they continued making the way though the base "at the moment, I'm like a flame in a windstorm, no direction and everyone gets burned" he said.

Renee frowned again "But I saw you use biotic's to kill that guy" she said.

Logan nodded "Slight difference I was using biotic's on my body not trying to hit anyone else with them" he said as he moved towards another door "ok this is it, just follow my lead"

Renee nodded "Let's do this"

Once the door opened and inside the room they could see two Aztec's standing near a control panel that turned as soon the door opened, Renee opened fire hitting one in the chest twice while Logan ran towards the other one and jumped towards him placing a kick to the chest and sending him backwards and into the wall where Renee shot the Aztec in the face before shooting the other man in the face.

"So what's this room?" Renee asked.

"Control room for the cells on this block" Logan answered her as he sat down to rest.

"What do you mean this block?" She asked.

"This place is massive and would have at least five blocks" he said "with at least a hundred to two hundred cells on each block" he told her.

"Good grief how many people would they have here?" Renee asked.

Logan blinked the pain in his arms was intense "Hard to say they could have one in every cell or they might have more" he told her "come here" he said "now I need you to open all the cells on this block"

Renee shook her head horrified "Bastards" she said before walking over to the console "shouldn't we get more weapons first?" she asked.

Logan shook his head "No, the armoury would be heavily defended, we need something to get their attention"

Renee stopped what she was doing "You mean we using them as bait?" she asked.

Logan shook his head "No, we are giving them a chance to escape" he told her "something they didn't have before" he explained "besides I get the feeling nobody leaves this place, like a death camp" he said before turning to her "we will help them just not with them" he told her as alarms sounded throughout the base "just do it already" he snarled half from pain half from frustration.

Renee did what she was told and opened the cells on this block "Now what?" she asked, she didn't seem happy about opening the cells just yet and would of preferred to be able to help them more directly.

Logan looked at the dead bodies "I need you to give me one of their headsets so I can listen in" he said as Renee took one off the dead and put it on Logan's head and hooking it into his ear "now let's move" he told her.

As they moved out of the room they could hear the sounds of chaos as colonists and other people captured raced to their freedom most were cut down quickly however they were causing a lot of trouble for the Aztec's , grabbing weapons and starting fires and filling the hallways with smoke.

Over the headset Logan could hear that familiar voice of the man who tortured him "Damn it what the fuck is going on down there?" he asked "Zorilla answer me" he said "damn it why won't that damn asari answer her comm's?"

"Attention, Attention, Zorilla is dead, fuckhead" Logan said over the comm "and Sam and those guys from next door are going to be running a little late"

"I am going to rip your fucking spine out" the man said to Logan.

Logan laughed "Now that is not a voice for radio" Logan mocked "So what's your name anyway? Arsehole, Dickhead, Bitch-tits? " Logan said "I need to know so they can I.D your corpse"

The man almost snarled over the comm "I am going to crave my name into your forehead" he warned.

Logan chuckled "Well you need to know your name to do that" he mocked.

The man went quiet for a moment before "My name is Kurt Silva" he said "and I will be the last person you ever see"

Logan smiled and chuckled over the comm "Then come and get me then" as he ended the conversation.

Renee and Logan left the control room and made their way through the base, avoiding Aztec's and killing the ones that they couldn't sneak past. The colonists racing for the exits and causing chaos for the Aztec's made it easier to move around and of course Logan and Renee setting off alarms, shutting down defences and opening more cells and releasing even more colonists made things even easier however the dead littered the hallways both from Aztec's and colonists.

Making their way through the base shooting any Aztec's they saw and following the path of least resistance they ended up in a large open area littered with glass tanks, tables and a few cells as Logan moved closer he could see the glass tanks were filled with human body parts there was a couple of other glass tanks that had a small collection of other species organs but for every other tank was filled with human organs on the wall was a large screen with a list of names and dates and then a name of an organ beside that.

Logan could hear Renee throwing up behind him as he walked closer to the screen and began studying the names on the screen "We need to download those names" he said and when he got no answer he turned around and saw Renee wiping her mouth "Renee?" he asked.

Renee was very pale but finally answered him "Y…yeah ok" she said.

Logan nodded before looking around at the room as Renee used a stolen Omni-tool to download the names and anything else she found.

Renee started to download the data "what are they doing here anyway?'

Logan looked around before answering "Organ black market" he said "take the organs here and sell them" he told her.

Renee looked very pale "So what with the torture then?" she asked.

Logan was silent for a moment "For business, to find out information they normally wouldn't get" he said "apart from that, for fun" he explained.

Renee had just finished downloading the data "But I don't know anything, I was studying for Alliance R&D but I don't know anything yet"

Logan nodded "They wouldn't know that" he said "besides they may have just wanted to hurt you" he told her.

Renee turned to Logan "So all that was for nothing?" she asked.

Logan looked at her and tried to think of a way to tell her that the Aztec's saw her as nothing but a slab of meat and would of thought nothing of putting her in here with her friends and family well what was left of them "Not to them it wasn't" he said.

Renee looked confused "Then why would they do that?" she asked.

Logan moved towards the door "Fun" he told her "let's move" he said before she could think of anything more to ask.

Squads of Aztec's were now searching room by room for Logan and Renee and shooting anyone that was not a member of the Aztec's however due to the number of colonists running the hallways and running out of the base and into the wastelands of Korlus it was taking far longer than what they expected.

Logan looked into the hallway and saw a Aztec with his back turned "Kill him" he mouthed the words to Renee who took aim and fired hitting the Aztec in the back dropping him.

"My legs!" the Aztec screamed "I can't feel my legs" he screamed from the ground.

"Shoot him again" Logan told her.

Renee looked at Logan "Why?" she asked "he can't move"

Logan sighed before walking over calmly and stomping on the Aztec's neck causing a loud snap to be heard "If I tell you to kill someone I mean kill them, not fucking cripple them" he told her "the moment you show these fuckers any mercy is the moment that you wind up in a box" he snarled.

Renee looked shaken up "those were my family and friends in that room back there" she said and was about to say something else when Logan cut her off.

"And what do you think they will do if they catch us?" he asked "what you went through before will seem like a vacation to what they will do now" he told her before looking down at the dead Aztec "you have killed some of them, that makes you a enemy of the Aztec's now" he told her "now move" he ordered her.

Renee followed Logan along slowly making their way to a shuttle bay, barrels of element zero which is used a star ship fuel and is also highly flammable there was also two large tanks filled with element zero as well as a weapons locker and a control panel to release docking clamps and launch shuttles from the bay.

Logan moved to the control panel and had a quick look at it "Renee I need you here" he told her and after she had walked over "I need you to grab all the weapons you can carry and change the safety settings on that" he said.

"What for?" Renee asked as she ran over to the weapons locker and started grabbing weapons.

Logan had moved towards the barrels and was now knocking them over spilling element zero all over the floor "I need you to send that shuttle" he said looking at one shuttle "into that wall" he told her.

"We aren't escaping?" Renee asked.

Logan shook his head "Not yet their AA guns would shoot us out of the sky"

Renee looked around and realized what Logan was up to "You're burning it down?" she asked

Logan nodded "Yep" he answered "hopefully the Alliance will see a big ass smoke cloud and come and check it out"

Renee was horrified "But the colonists will be burned alive!" she explained to him

Logan sighed "I know" he said quietly.

Renee shook her head before walking over to Logan and punching him hard in the face which Logan just took but had a dangerous look in his eyes.

"That one was free, the next one will cost you" he warned "listen, these guys need to be taken care of, you have seen what they are capable of, and they deserve punishment" he said "and the colonists won't all burn only the ones in the deepest parts of the base" he told her "if you want to get out of here alive, I still need your help"

Renee nodded "Fine but I want to help as many people as we can" and went back to the control panel and after a few minutes of hacking she managed it "there" she said as she pressed the button.

The shuttle launched and exploded into the wall sending fireballs in every direction and soon the whole room was in flames.

"Let's get out of here before those tanks blow" Logan told her running out of the room, his whole body felt on fire and if he stopped moving then he would have trouble getting moving again but he kept moving and headed towards an elevator "Renee get in" he told her.

Renee got into the elevator and looked at Logan and noticed he was very pale and seemed to be on his last legs "C'mon I need you I can't do this without you" she said to him "this is your plan remember" Renee laughed nervously.

Logan nodded and blinked a few times before nodding again "Alright I'm good" he said "we can leave on foot now" he said "we head up to the upper levels find a way out" he told her "and you hand out those weapons to anyone that we find" he said.

Renee nodded "right" as she checked her shotgun.

**2 miles south of Aztec base**

"We have smoke sir" Melina Chavez told Commander Anderson, Lieutenant Chavez was laying on her belly with her rifle and scope set up watching the distance, if she hadn't spoken you would have been hard pressed to know she was even there. In the distance a large black smoke cloud could be seen rising into the sky.

"Good work" Commander Anderson said "I want to get a closer look" he said as the moved.

It had been 2 days since they first arrived here and just over a day since the squad got separated Anderson, Chavez and the quiet engineer Jamal Hopkins ended up together and they had no idea what had happened to the others and had fallen back to a safe distance before they would try and move in again quietly.

"Think it is one of ours boss?" Hopkins asked.

Anderson thought for a moment "I don't know it could be" he answered "I'm sure she is fine" he told the young engineer.

Hopkins nodded "I hope so" he said softly.

Chavez came down from her vantage point "Corporal Marden is tough and a powerful biotic" she said "she is fine we will see" she said.

Anderson nodded and looked at his small squad "Let's move" he said.

**1 mile north of Aztec base**

Op-chief Douglas McKay saw black smoke burst from the base "looks like someone kicked a hornet's nest" he said, since being separated McKay had taken charge of Corporal Rachel Marden and the reckless Service Chief Wesley Callaway and due to the jamming towers had not heard a word from the others since.

"I can see people running out" Callaway said who just like Chavez was using a rifle to watch the distance unlike Lieutenant Chavez, Callaway had a scope on a high powered assault rifle "they don't look like Aztec's" he said

Corporal Rachel Marden smiled "Maybe it's Jamal?" she asked hopefully.

"Only one way to find out" McKay said "let's move"

**Inside the Aztec base**

Logan could hear people screaming as they were either burned alive or shot by Aztec's, of course Logan had forgotten about one possibility and as soon as he saw them roaming the halls he cursed to himself for forgetting the fact that varren are very popular amongst pirates.

Varren's are kind of like an alien dog, looking a bit like a cross between a dog and a real ugly fish, with bulging eyes and spines coming from their back but what made varren truly dangerous was the three key traits one was their sense of smell as once they got a scent they didn't stop until they found it and the second trait was their powerful and oversized mouth that was filled with teeth that reached a length of nine inches long and of course the third trait that they ate their prey alive made them a bad sight to see if you were injured like Logan was.

Logan and Renee walked past one dead body that looked as if it had been eaten and before they could realize what that meant, two varren could be seen at the end of the hallway blood dripping from their lips they snapped at each other before they both started running towards them.

Renee fired and hit one but it wasn't a fatal wound so it kept coming she kept firing while backing up and finally dropping one.

Logan was not so lucky, with no weapons he had no chance of fighting this thing so he ran with the varren close behind him and went to get up high away from the alien dog but varren can jump and jump very well too, grabbing Logan by his leg and pulling him down and tearing his leg open and once Logan was on the ground the varren tried for Logan's throat while it ignored Logan's kicks to its face.

Just as the Varren was close enough to his face he could smell its breath, a gun shot rang out and the varren's head was torn in half. Logan leaned his head back and saw Callaway standing there with a proud look on his face.

Callaway smiled "Stay" he said simply.

"Hey" Logan called out weakly "give me a hand here" he asked

McKay was closely behind Callaway "Shepard my boy!" he said as he walked over "Oh that doesn't look good" he said looking down at Logan shredded leg "just stay still" he said as he applied medi-gel to the wound "rest of the Alliance is coming in now" he told Logan "we have more shuttles landing now mopping up what you started" he said before he stopped and put a finger to his ear "roger that" he said "Commander Anderson is on his way in now and the jamming towers have been taken down" he told Logan.

Logan nodded "yeah" he was still lying on his back while McKay worked on his injuries.

Marden walked over with Renee "She told me what happened" she said "I can't believe you broke your own arms" she said.

Logan smiled weakly he was exhausted and had nothing left "Yeah" he answered simply as he slowly closed his eyes.


	6. Battered but alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Logan spends his time recovering from the torture at the hands of the Aztecs, news of his escape make the news. It seems as if he is infamous

Logan was still out cold and was taken for medical treatment, while being carried past squads of marine's quiet chatter about Logan's escape spread very quickly and as a result many were trying to get a look at the man who survived by snapping his own arms. The doctors had surrounded Logan and were trying to repair his shredded leg, however due to the extent of his injuries he was transferred to an Alliance space station where he could receive more medical attention as well as being able to recover in a military hospital without taking up beds that might be needed for the more seriously injured marine's.

On his way to the space station, a doctor had come to greet them as soon as Logan was on board.

"So what's his story?" the doctor asked.

A field medic who was assisting with transporting Logan answered "Dr Chakwas, this is Gunnery Chief Logan Shepard" he told her "he was captured and tortured for a day and a half, he broke his arms to escape" he said.

Dr Chakwas looked at Logan and shook her head "You poor boy" she said "what did they do to you?" she asked as she looked over his wounds "third degree burns on his left forearm" she said more to herself as Logan was wheeled into the med bay "electric burns on torso as well as small marks from a type of needle on his torso and bicep" she said thinking what could of caused them "do you know what could of done this?" she asked the field medic who shook his head.

"Might be from fire needles" he said "small needles covered in a chemical that burns on contact with flesh" he said "it's more like poison ivy than a real burn but it hurts like all hell"

Dr Chakwas nodded while running a scan over his body "Broken rib and of course two broken wrists" she said shaking her head, she had been in the Alliance all of her adult life but this was the first time she had seen a marine go to such lengths to survive "his leg is a broken shredded mess" she said "we need to focus on that first" she said to her assistant before turning to the field medic and dismissing him so he could return to his duties.

Logan woke up a few hours later he was very groggy but felt no pain and he also felt a little giddy, it was then he noticed the IV in his arm that was hooked up and must be feeding him painkillers, looking around he could see another marine in the same room as him who was awake.

"And look at that, the dead wake" the marine said when he saw Logan stirring.

"How long was I out for?" Logan asked.

The other marine thought for a moment before he answered "Few hours, they just bought you back from surgery" he said "how you feeling anyway?"

Logan groaned as he sat up "Sore" he said cracking his neck, he was silent for a few moments as he remembered what had happened to him and for some reason what the asari did to him seemed to bother him more, he didn't know why "so what's your name?" he asked.

The marine smiled "Matthew Dinnie" he said "I'm an infiltrator" he said looking down at his leg "my leg got broken, almost ripped off"

Logan nodded "How did you do that?" he asked.

"Well I didn't break my own leg if that's what you're asking" Matthew said laughing "nah got launched by a biotic" he told Logan "I flew around twenty feet before I landed" he said.

Logan nodded "That must of hurt" he replied before adding "news travels fast around here, I wasn't expecting anyone to know just yet" he said simply.

Matthew nodded "yeah, you're kind of infamous now" he said chuckling "everyone wanted to see you when you came in, nobody really believed that you broke your arms so they wanted to see for themselves" he said.

Logan rolled his eyes "so when are you getting out?'

Matthew sighed "Few weeks" he said as he picked up a pistol that was heavily modified and began to take it apart.

Logan sighed and cracked his neck "So where did that happen? I didn't see you on Korlus" he asked

Matthew shook his head "Nah not on Korlus, I was a part of a raid on a refuelling station"

At that point Dr Chakwas entered the room and took a look at Matthew taking apart his pistol "I believe I have told you before not to do that in here"

Mathew smiled "C'mon doc it's boring in here" he said.

Dr Chakwas just rolled her eyes "Now how are you feeling?" she asked Logan as she began giving him a medical scan and checking his bandages.

"Good" Logan said "All things considered" he told her "I'm not in pain though if that's what you mean" he said.

Dr Chakwas nodded "Good then the pain killers are working then" she said "oh and when you feel up to it Commander Anderson and the psychologist want to talk to you"

Logan rolled his eyes "I'm fine, I don't need to talk to a shrink" he said sounding annoyed.

Dr Chakwas just looked at him "Well then I will not clear you for active duty until you do"

Logan sighed "Fine, I'll talk to them" he told her.

Dr Chakwas nodded "Good she will be here to see you in a few hours then, after you have recovered a bit more" she said "and Commander Anderson will see you….." she was saying as Commander Anderson walked into the room "oh Commander you're here" she said  
.  
"How is our Operations Chief doing?" he asked

Dr Chakwas nodded "Remarkably well" she said "I would like to keep him for observation" she told him who only nodded in response.

"Wait, did I just hear you refer to me as Op-chief sir?" Logan asked.

Commander Anderson smiled "You have been promoted effective immediately" he told Logan "I will still have to know what happened down there" he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed

Logan nodded and took a deep breath as he recounted what had happened, while he told his story he noticed that Dr Chakwas was listening to him as was Matthew Dinnie and he couldn't help but notice the shocked looks on their faces

"He was going to cut my legs off with a chainsaw when an asari stopped him" Logan said "she said that she could get the info out of me without killing me….again" he told Anderson "then her eyes went black and then she was in my mind" he said.

Anderson just listened "Did she get anything?" he asked "I'm not judging you son" he quickly explained.

Logan looked at Anderson and though gritted teeth he said simply "She didn't get shit!" he said before continuing his story once he was done he looked at Anderson who nodded and looked almost proud of him.

"Get some rest son" he said "You did good and thanks to the names you got we now have a few leads on where to go next" he said before standing up "I'll let the rest of your squad know you pulled though they are eager to see you"

Logan smiled "Send them in" he said his sprits lifting.

Anderson shook his head "Not yet, you need some rest first" he told him before saluting him and talking to Dr Chakwas and left soon afterwards.

Dr Chakwas walked over to him and injected a needle into the I.V bag and almost right away Logan started to fall asleep.

"What's that for?" Logan slurred.

Dr Chakwas finished doing her checks before answering him "It's just to put you to sleep we need you to rest" she said as Logan's eyes closed before she finished answering him.

When Logan woke up again it was hours later and was hungry looking around he could see there was Dr Chakwas talking to a another doctor.

"Ah he is awake" the new doctor said "My name is Dr Miller" she said "I will be talking to you about what happened to you"

Logan rolled his eyes "Look this is not needed, I am fine" he told her.

Dr Miller smiled "Well that's what I am here to find out" she said still with that bubbly personality that made it really hard for Logan to stay pissed off

After a hour of talking in which Logan answered every question she had asked but was pretty much telling her what she needed to hear

Dr Miller smiled at the end of the session "Well that was good, maybe next time you can tell me the truth" she said as she wrote a few things down still smiling "I can't help you if you don't talk to me" she explained "you went through more than most it would be understandable if you were suffering from post-traumatic stress" she said "but we can talk about that next time" Dr Miller told him before telling him she would be back tomorrow.

After having something to eat Logan saw Melina come to visit him she was in a somewhat happy mood which was rare for her.

"Hey" she said as she sat down his bed "how is the food?" she asked.

Logan chuckled "Tastes like shit" he told her "you're in a good mood" he said.

Melina smiled "Well we all thought you were dead" she told him "I should of know it would of taken more than pirates to kill you" she joked before she went quiet "hey listen I have been meaning to ask….are you and Jamie an item?" she asked

Logan looked at her "No, we are just friends" he told her "why do ask?" he wondered out loud

Melina smiled "When you get out of here, I'll shout you a drink" she said and with a wink she stood up and went to leave.

Logan raised an eyebrow "Are you hitting on me Ma'am?" he asked.

Melina just smiled "Something to think about" was all she said before she left.

Over the next few days Logan's squad had come to visit him but due to the war going on they couldn't always make it and as a result Logan spent most of his time talking to Matthew who he had found out was an Operations chief as well. Of course Dr Miller was still giving him a hard time wanting him to open up but he didn't like doing that, growing up sharing personal weakness to anyone would be a death sentence even though he knew in this case it wasn't it still took some time, old habits die hard after all but over time Logan opened up.

"I never knew the Asari could do that" he said "invade people's minds like that" he told Dr Miller.

"Well what Zorilla did to you is seen as a serious crime amongst the asari" she told him "most asari are not like that at all and would look at Zorilla like humans view a rapist" she explained to him.

Logan went silent and blinked "You're saying she raped me?" he asked.

Dr Miller bit her lip as she thought of way to tell him "as far as asari look at it, yes she did" she told him.

Logan looked down at his hands "Too bad I couldn't kill her twice" he snarled under his breath.

Dr Miller studied her patient reaction before adding "It was not your fault, no one could have done more" she tried to reassure him.

Logan looked back up at her "I know that" he said not really sure what to think before he asked "so how do you know all this about the asari anyway?"

Dr Miller smiled softly "My bond mate is an asari" she told him "and believe me asari like Zorilla are few and far between and are no more common than human's who do the same" she said.

Logan looked at her "Still happens a lot though yeah?" he asked.

"Yes but not in large numbers" Dr Miller said "some of the Terra Firma party like to claim it's every one in four or that every asari will do it, not true" she reassured him "the real numbers are closer to one in twenty or something like that" she told him "so you see it does happen but nowhere near the amount those bigots claim" she said before asking "how do you feel?"

Logan sighed and rubbed his eyes "Like I can't wait to catch up to her partner" he told her.

Dr Miller smiled "I think you're going to be fine" she said.

Logan raised his eyebrows "Does that mean I'm clear for active duty?" he asked hopefully.

Dr Miller shook her head "Not yet, I don't want to rush you back into the thick of it just yet" she said "just take it easy you will be back in the fight soon enough, you have my word" she told him before leaving.

Once Logan was by himself when he tried to for a walk, against doctor's orders, a bad mistake, something Matthew was telling him not to do just yet, but Logan was very stubborn and couldn't stand sitting in a comfy bed while his squad were getting shot at.

As soon as Logan put weight onto his bad leg a sharp pain shot up his leg before his leg buckled and he fell over in agony.

Dr Chakwas came running into check on him "Mr Shepard, I believe I told you not to get out of bed" she said while helping him back up onto his bed "you have reopened your leg" she told him as she began stitching him back up and gave him some more painkillers "now when I tell you not to get out of bed, I mean it" she told him in a motherly sort of way.

Logan sighed "I hate it here. I'm going stir crazy in this room" he said.

Dr Chakwas nodded "I know I don't like here much myself, I'd rather be on a warship" she said "however I'll see about getting something to keep you busy" she told him "but if you keep getting out of bed you will be here for longer and I really don't want to have to tie you to the bed"

Logan chuckled at that "Kinky doctor, but I think we should keep it professional" he joked.

Dr Chakwas laughed at that "One more comment like that and you can go without painkillers for a little while" she joked

Logan eyes went wide "You wouldn't?" he asked.

"Oh wouldn't I?" she said with a chuckle as she left.

Logan shook his head "You're evil doctor" he joked.

Watching the news Logan heard his name mentioned so he turned up the volume "…was captured by pirates and had escaped by breaking his arms before fighting his way through the base" the reporter said "he has since been taken for medical treatment and is now up for a promotion" the reporter said before moving onto another story.

Matthew chuckled "Looks like your famous now"

Logan sighed "Yeah looks like" he said "I hope it doesn't make my job more difficult now"

Matthew smiled "I'm sure it won't" he said "although you might be asked for interviews now"

Logan rolled his eyes at that "Great"

Logan introduced Matthew to Douglas McKay and Wesley Callaway when they came to visit him a few hours later and ended up playing poker with them, while playing Logan thanked Wesley for saving his life.

"No problem sir" he said with a goofy looking smile on his face "I'm sure you will repay the favour someday"

Logan chuckled "I'm sure I will" he said "and don't call me sir, I work for a living" he joked "so where are you guys heading to next?" he asked

Wesley placed a card down before answering "Well I am heading to some trade point between slavers and buyers" he said "we going in as possible buyers to draw them out into the open" he said slamming his fist into his open hand

"What about you Douglas?" Logan asked

Douglas dealt a new hand of cards before he answered "Me, I'm retiring" he said "I bought nice little bar on Elysium, they needed new businesses to open since the raid so I happened to get it heaps cheaper than what it was selling for before the raid" he said looking at his cards "just one last mission before I can retire" he said

Logan nodded "Nice, do we get a discount or a bar tab?" he asked chuckling

Douglas smiled "Alliance half price drinks" he said "my way of giving something back" he said laughing "gotcha" he said throwing his cards down "royal flush" he said.

Matthew swore "God damn it, how do you keep doing that?" he asked.

Douglas chuckled "Well I could tell you how I keep beating you guys but then I would have to kill you" he joked.

"So where is this last mission anyway?" Logan asked.

Douglas started to deal a new hand "One more hand" he told them "they have me going to some backwater planet to do a simple sweep" he answered.

Logan shook his head "Man I wish I could join you, one last time before you retire" he said.

Douglas smirked "Well you would have been if you didn't fuck up your injured leg again" he told him.

Matthew picked up his cards "So what's the name of this planet anyway?" he asked

"I don't know" Douglas answered while thinking "Akuze I think" he said "I'm leaving tomorrow" he told them.

**A few days later.**

Logan sitting in bed after doing physio on his leg and was watching the news when a report on Akuze come on the screen, so he turned it up and told Matthew and the doctors to be quiet.

"We interrupt this program for breaking news forty nine marines have been killed in action on the small planet Akuze," the reporter said. "The platoon encountered an unknown alien animal now known as a Thresher maw, a massive apex predator well known by council races," the reporter continued. "So far we are still getting incoming reports however we are told that thresher maws are spread all over the galaxy and often appear on uncharted worlds," the reporter said. "The platoon was ambushed a by nest of these animals and a vicious fire fight occurred in which forty nine brave marines died in the attack leaving only one alive" the reporter had been reporting on the war but this was seen as an incredible and avoidable loss of life

Logan knew in his heart Douglas McKay did not survive, his luck had finally ran out and the reporter confirmed what he already knew.

"The sole survivor Gunnery Chief Nikita Taylor is being taken for medical treatment we will update you as we learn more" the reporter finished.

Logan turned the screen off and laid back in his bed, thinking of his friend and the brother he never had "one last mission" he said more to himself than anyone.

Matthew was quiet for a moment "You ok?" he asked.

Logan nodded "It was meant to be a simple mission" he said, "I guess nothing is ever simple" he sighed "I'll be fine," he said.

Over the next week Logan had two more sessions with Dr Miller where he talked about his capture, the torture, the loss of Douglas McKay and of course the Aztecs.

"You have had run in's with the Aztec's before haven't you?" she asked.

"Yeah I used to have to hide from them as a kid, wasn't that hard you could see them rolling down the street in a van with the lights off" he told her.

"Were you afraid of them?" she asked.

Logan looked at her "As a kid I was, as I knew what would have happened if they caught me" he told her. "But once I joined the Reds I didn't, they were not stupid enough to go after a Red on their turf" he said "but even so I knew what they were capable of and the fact they were not to be trusted or taken lightly"

Dr Miller nodded "So what would they of done if they did catch you as a child?" she asked already knowing the answer.

Logan just looked at her "What do you think?" he asked, "they would of sold me as a slave and I could be anywhere now," he said.

Dr Miller was quiet for a moment she had heard stories of what the slums of earth were like but if what Logan was telling her was true then it was far worse than what was reported "Do you ever think about it?" she asked.

"No" Logan said simply "am I cleared for duty yet?" he asked.

Dr Miller could not help but smile "Just one last question" she told him "Dr Chakwas has noticed you sleep with your hands covering your face and ears, can you tell me why?" she asked.

"When I lived on the streets if you didn't sleep like that rats would eat your ears and face off" he told her "I saw at least two different people die like that" he said before he added "either junkies or people who didn't know any better" he said

Dr Miller nodded "Well I think you are fit for duty and I have to say you have survived where others would either have died or be locked up in a mental hospital by now" she said "I think you will be fine" she said "just take it easy you don't want to damage your leg again" she told him.

Logan nodded "Thanks doc" he said as he watched her leave.

After another week in the med bay, Logan finally allowed to leave. Matthew released two weeks ago and had already placed into Logan's squad and the rest of his squad were waiting for him and were planning a night out to remember Douglas McKay and to have one last night of fun before going back onto the front lines.

Having shore leave on some small colony wasn't ideal as there was not much to do, however the squad didn't really care and made their way to a local bar.

"I believe I owe you a drink," Melina said to him when she saw him.

"Yes ma'am, I believe you do" Logan said smiling as he followed her to the bar and helped her carry the drinks back to the squad's table.

Sitting down with the drinks Logan raised his glass in honour of Douglas McKay, the rest of the squad raised their glasses and offered a moments silence to the former teammate before the downed their shots and slammed the glasses down.

After spending the next few hours drinking more than what recommended for human consumption, Logan slammed his shot glass down as he watched Wesley struggle to stand up take two steps before throwing up and falling over.

Matthew shook his head "Never get into a drinking contest with a biotic" he said laughing while helping him up "c'mon lightweight, let's get you back before you make more of a mess" he said placing an arm over his shoulder "see you guys tomorrow" he said as he walked away with Wesley.

"I wanna rematsh" he slurred pointing at Logan.

Logan chuckled while he was drunk, he was fine and had always been a drinker and ever since he got his biotic amp he could outdrink almost anyone, only Douglas McKay was able to keep up with him "Some never learn their lesson" he said with a shake of his head.

Melina looked at him she had a few drinks herself but spent most of the night watching Wesley make an idiot of himself, so while she had a buzz she was by no means drunk "You ok after all that?" She asked while biting her lower lip.

Logan nodded with a smile "yeah I'm fine" he said burping before he looked at her "would you like to get out of here ma'am?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

Melina smiled "I thought you would never ask" she said as she took him by the hand and lead him to a deserted park not far from the bar before she pounced kissing him and tearing his shirt off while Logan worked on her top and removed her bra.

Logan noticed she was very aggressive pushing him backwards and into a wall, he let her take charge as a light bluish glow surrounded his body and since she was touching him surrounded her as well sending goose bumps over her whole body. She fumbled with his pants with a slight desperation to her movements before reaching in and taking a handful of him as she lowered to her knees and took him in her mouth.

Logan groaned and after a minutes of her attention he lifted her back up and pulled her pants down and spun her around so her back was against his chest, bending her over he entered her and gripped her hips.

Massaging her breasts with his hands while using his biotics to increase the slight tingle over her body which based on the noises she was making she enjoyed, the sounds of the bodies slapping together became more frantic before Logan exploded inside her with a groan he pulled out.

"Holy shit" she panted "that was amazing" she told him "I didn't know you could use your biotics like that," she said.

Logan chuckled "Yeah of course it's the first thing we can do" he answered "even a biotic with no training can do that" he told her "of course training helps" he said laughing and pulling his pants up.

Melina smiled, as she got dressed. "just so you know this was a one off and does not change anything between us," she told him with a slight look of concern on her face.

Logan smiled "Good" he said looking around to make sure they were not spotted "we should get going though we do have a briefing in the morning" he said.

Melina nodded "I will see you then" she said as she walked away.

The next morning Logan was up before anyone else and due to his biotic nature and his high tolerance for alcohol he had no hang over, Wesley was not so lucky and reminded Logan of the walking dead "Up for that rematch?" he teased.

Wesley just looked at him "You're not human sir" he said with a slight chuckle as they both walked into the briefing room and waited for the rest to show up

Melina walked in next and met Logan's eyes with a slight smile and a brief nod before seeing Wesley and laughing, "If I remember correctly you were warned not to try and out drink Shepard" she said to him.

Wesley nodded "Yeah well next time I'll listen" he said rubbing his temples willing his headache to go away.

Logan chuckled at that "Ah first time for everything I guess" he said and was about to say more when the rest of the squad came in followed by Commander Anderson.

"Ok, I am assuming all of you are fit for duty?" he asked looked at Wesley.

Wesley nodded "Ready for duty sir" he said.

Anderson looked at him for a moment longer before looking around at the room he could see Wesley was nursing a hangover but appeared fine. Logan Shepard was once again back and his body language said that he was itching for a fight, His second in command Lieutenant Melina Chavez seemed to be quiet and relaxed as always, there was the two Corporal's Rachel Marden and Jamal Hopkins who were sitting together as always and of course the new member of the squad Matthew Dinnie who sat quietly resting his chin his hands his expression difficult to read "I hope so" he finally answered.

"We will be hitting a meeting point between batarian slavers" Anderson announced "this will be a surprise attack with luck they will not know we are coming" he said "and for some of you this will your first of your N-6 missions" he said with a slight smile. "Shepard, Dinnie, Callaway you will be evaluated and assuming you pass you will earn your N-6 designation" he said "and for Lieutenant Melina Chavez this will be your first N-7 mission" he told her which Melina smiled and nodded "which means you will be charge of the overall planning and execution of this mission" he said.

Melina nodded "Thank you sir" she saluted.

Anderson saluted "Well I have other business to attend to, good hunting" he said before leaving.

Melina walked to the front of the room and studied the lay out of the slaver base. "Ok, based on the information the slavers are having a party and are going to be discussing what to do next" she said. "So we go in nice and quiet and once we are in position we hit them hard no giving them a chance to counterattack" she told them "so here is the plan," she said as she relayed her plan.

A shuttle dropped them off a short distance away and keeping off their headset's they made their way towards the base.

"I can see a few guards," Logan whispered to Melina "and a watchtower"

"You and Wesley take out that tower, we will give you a clear path," she said as she attached a silencer and nodded towards Matthew who did the same.

At the same time they fired, shooting two guards who were out having a smoke and talking to each other, the light coming from their smokes the only light showing where they were clearly in the dark.

Logan chuckled quietly to himself "Those things will kill you" as he moved forward.

The team took care of the guards on the outside of the base quietly and made their way inside the base. Moving quietly, Logan and Wesley took out the two guards in the watchtower protected from rifles by shatterproof glass. Since they couldn't risk anyone seeing the blue flash from his biotics Logan moved in armed with his knife came up behind one batarian and cut his throat from ear to ear while Wesley stabbed the other batarian in the base of the skull before the both looked around.

"We're in" Logan said into his headset.

Melina made the signal for the rest of the team to move in and got them into position. Logan was placed into a small group with Rachel and Wesley were waiting on a rooftop just below them was a large dinner table with batarian slavers slowly walking into the room while Melina, Matthew and Jamal set explosive devices on all the exits except one, the same one they would be using.

Logan looked at the other two "ready in three, two, one" he said as the power was shut off and sounds of gun shots ringing out taking out any pirate could be heard as that was happening Logan and the other two crashed through the skylight, using night vision goggles the batarian slavers were sitting ducks in the dark.

Rachel launched a warp field that shredded the nearest two batarian's while she used her spare hand to throw another three flying across the room and in an impressive display of biotic power a singularity was fired from her fingertips mere seconds later, once that was done she pulled her pistol out and began shooting batarian's caught in the singularity.

Wesley had a much different approach, different but brutally effective. Using his shotgun to devastating effect at that range anyone caught in front of him was torn apart he focused on the slavers further away from the dinner table while they tried in vain to reach their weapons, throwing two grenades out to the far side of the room sending slavers and debris flying in every direction.

Logan used a combination of biotics and a very sharp knife. As soon as he landed, he kicked a bottle of shard wine into the face of one slaver, before slashing the batarian's throat while his other hand fired a biotic throw towards two slavers, launching them into the path of the grenades Wesley just used. Logan stabbed another slaver in the forehead before he pulled the knife back out and switched to his shotgun.

At same time the three of them removed their goggles as the power came back on, the whole exchange only took a matter of seconds however, the room littered with the dead.

"Good work" Logan said "let's get going" he said the sounds of alarm's could be heard along with sounds of a moving gun battle "we don't want them to have all the fun" he said with a slight chuckle as he lead them out of the room and began shooting any slaver stupid enough to show themselves.

Corporal Hopkins was now roaming the narrow hallways pulling the trigger on his shotgun with Melina and Matthew backing him up after switching to pistols, the slavers never stood a chance as the attack was sudden and overwhelming a few tried to run and headed towards the other exit's.

BOOM! An explosion ripped apart one exit sending debris flying in every direction followed by another explosion from another exit. Chaos and panic as the pirates ran for cover but quickly found out the hard way there was no escape. One pirate tried to run from Logan and caught a bullet in the back sending him to the ground, Logan walked over to the pirate who was now begging for his life.

"Please, I just work for them" he cried.

Logan pointed his pistol at the pirate "Not anymore" he said before firing two shots into the pirate's skull silencing the pirate forever "let's move"" he said.

BOOM! Another explosion rocked the base followed by a few more as the pirates tried to run for safety.

The pirates were at first in shock over the attack and that made them easy targets they quickly recovered and began fighting back however it was too little, too late. As Logan and the others made their way room to room.

While there was more batarian's here the almost any base Logan had raided there was still a very small handful of other races a few asari, two turians and to Logan's surprise an elcor with dual Gatling gun's on its large back.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said as he shoved Rachel down and out of the way. Wesley turned around to see what they were talking about just in time to see the massive alien open fire. Due to the gun's inaccurate nature it was mostly missing, however the rounds that found their mark tore through his legs and lower abdomen leaving his legs nothing more than bloody stumps and opening up his stomach.

Logan raised a biotic shield around him while Rachel dragged Wesley to safety using her biotics as rounds continued to rain down upon their position making short work of the room they had as cover glass and other debris fell all around them.

Wesley was still alive however he was not in very good shape and losing the colour of out of his face fast "Stay with me Wesley" Rachel said as she worked to keep him alive pushing his intestines back into his body and applying medi-gel although it helped slow the bleeding the damage was severe

Logan looked at Wesley and Rachel "Look after him, I'll take care of the big guy," he said.

Rachel looked back at him "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to give him something else to shoot at" he answered.

As the V.I program on the elcor started to reload, Logan used that moment to run from cover, shooting a throw field at the elcor that bounced harmlessly off its shield. The elcor slowly turned to track his movements, but Logan was moving too quickly for the large alien to follow. Logan sent a desk using his biotics flying at the elcor causing it to raise its large arms to protect its self as its shield would not protect it from the desk, as it was moving too slowly. In that moment, Logan ran forward and climbed up the elcor's back like a monkey as the alien's weapons came back online causing Logan to drop his pistol.

"Shit" he said as he tried to move the elcor away from his teammates by ripping out the V.I program sending sparks into the air. The elcor began to swing wildly in a circle trying to dislodge the human sending rounds in every direction ripping the room apart as Logan hung on to its back and pulled his knife out and stabbed it in the back over and over.

Pain and panic as an alien accustomed to neither was now experiencing both. One who showed no restraint was now ruthlessly hammering an open wound. The howls of pain exceeded the sound of the twin Gatling gun's fire as Logan stabbed the alien repeatedly. Due to the size of the alien and the nature of its home world, its thick hide was difficult to get through. After what seemed like hours the alien slowed and allowed Logan a chance to climb up higher on its back and stab it in the eye Logan twisted the blade causing the alien to finally stop moving and it fell over.

Logan stepped off the alien and wiped the elcor's blood off his face as he made his way back over to Rachel and Wesley "we need a EVAC" he said into his headset "Wesley has been hit bad"

"Just mopping up now, on our way to you" was the reply over his headset.

"Hear that mate, we are getting out of here" Logan said to Wesley who was in a lot of pain and quickly going into shock "bring more medi-gel" he said as he tried to help Rachel stop the bleeding.

Melina and the other's finally reached their location and took one look at Wesley barely hanging on to life as Rachel was even using her biotics to hold his intestine's inside his body.

"Is he going to make it?" Jamal asked.

Rachel nodded "I think so, the rounds didn't go shred his intestine's, just opened him up" she said "someone grab his legs," she said.

Jamal looked around before spotting them as well as the dead elcor "Found them" he said rushing back over "what was an elcor doing here?" he asked.

Logan answered that "muscle I am thinking, bastard was tough" he answered "but that's not important right now" he told him "we need to get him out of here".

Rachel lifted Wesley up with biotics while keeping his insides were they belonged and made their way back to the EVAC point, after the assault on this base no was no one left alive.

Logan got into contact with their ship "Away team heading back, have a medical team ready we have a solider in critical condition" he told them as Wesley started to wake up and screaming in pain.

Logan took one look at him "How is his head?" he asked Rachel.

"His head?" she asked, "fine, it's his stomach and legs that are the problem" she answered "we can't give him anything to knock him though," she said.

Logan nodded before punching Wesley in the head as hard as he could him rending him unconscious.

"Why did you do that for?" Rachel asked

Logan looked at her "He was in a lot of pain and as you said you couldn't give him anything"

Dr Chakwas was waiting for them with a small team of medics once they were back on board and quickly went to work and spent the next four hours stabilizing his wounds but it become clear he would never be able to be solider again.

The team took the news hard however; the mission was successful, with Logan and Matthew promoted up to N-6 with Melina promoted up to N-7. Over the next few months, the squad preformed raids leading up to, just two more a space station housing reinforcements for the main batarian base that was located on the small moon of Torfan.


	7. Meet the Butcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Blitz comes to a close, who will survive to see the end of it? As Logan and his squads have one mission before they hit Torfan itself. The song for anyone wanting to know is In Time by Mark Collie, anyway enjoy.

Logan sat down next to Wesley's bed, he was awake but upset, and the doctors had cloned tissue and had started to regrow his legs. It took some time however. He had suffered a lot of damage and it did not look likely he would ever be on the front lines again.

"You must think I am pathetic," Wesley said "I got taken down by a fucking elcor of all things."

Logan shook his head, "You are joking right? You got shot by not one but two Gatling guns and damn near got torn in half" he said trying to make him feel better, "and you are still alive, that's not pathetic that is badass."

Wesley offered a weak smile, and said softly "I'm glad you think so"

Logan smiled at him. "Damn right I do, and yeah it was an elcor, but have you seen the size of those things? They are fucking massive, tough too" he told him "and anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about."

Wesley nodded "I want to thank you for knocking me out, I have never been in so much pain before, I just don't know what I did wrong. I mean I was drinking the night before but I was clear headed and by no means hung-over," he told Logan "it shouldn't have affected me"

Logan nodded, "You don't have to thank me, I know, none of us would have let you come along if we thought you were still hung-over" he said gently "and we had that check-up before we left so you were cleared to go."

Wesley nodded and asked, "So what did I do wrong then?"

Logan sighed and said, "Nothing at all, sometimes it just goes down like that"

Wesley chuckled softly "So shit happens?"

Logan smiled a little at that "Yeah it does"

Wesley went quiet for a moment and said quietly "I don't know what to do with myself now" he said sighing, "All I ever wanted to be was a soldier, but now I can't, docs tell me I won't be able to go back to the front lines" he explained. "The Alliance told me they could get me a desk job or something but that's not for me" he said his voice slightly breaking "reading and filing paperwork was never my strong suit"

Logan struggled to think of anything to say; he did not have to wait long as Wesley started speaking again.

"I guess we are even now?" he asked Logan who shook his head

"No" was Logan's reply and got a dangerous look in his eyes "I promise you every one of these bastards will pay for what they have done," he said coldly.

Wesley smiled weakly and chuckled softly, "That's what I always liked about you Shepard, you always knew how to cheer me up," he said as he looked up and saw Dr Chakwas walking in, "well I guess that means visiting hours are over"

Logan nodded and put a hand on his shoulder "Well I should go," he said.

"Give them hell for me," Wesley said with a grin.

Logan nodded as he left and headed towards the mess hall, it had been hours since he had eaten last. Sitting down at the table he was surprised to see Jamal Hopkins there without Rachel anywhere near by.

"Where is your shadow?" Logan asked smirking.

Jamal blushed slightly but had a slight smirk on his face "She is having a shower," he told Logan who had a large plate of food in front of him "um sir..."

Logan looked up at the large engineer "I told you not to call me sir, I work for a living," Logan told him as he took a bite to eat "what is it Jamal?" he asked using the Corporal's first name to make him feel more relaxed

Jamal sighed before reaching inside his pocket and pulling out a small ring box, which Logan noticed right away and raised his eyebrows "You're not going to ask me that are you?" Logan joked taking another bite.

Jamal was always a quiet one which of course made him somewhat of a sitting duck, in fact the only person known to be able to get him to smile was Rachel "What? No" he answered shaking his head "I wanted to asked Rachel to marry me, but I wanted to get your thoughts on it," he said watching Logan who reached over and grabbed the box.

"How much you pay for this?" he asked.

Jamal frowned "Not that it matters, but I paid two months wage on it" he answered.

Logan held the ring up to the light "You paid too much, it's a good cut but not worth that much" he said handing the ring back "still it looks good and it's not fake which is the main thing" Logan went back to eating.

Jamal looked a little disappointed but before he could ask anything else Logan looked at him, sighed and placed his knife and fork down.

"As for asking me if you should get married, I'm the wrong guy to ask," Logan said taking a drink of soda "I can barely keep it in my pants, but if you want to I say go for it" Logan said.

Jamal nodded and said "Thanks" before getting up to leave.

Many hours later, after a restless night's sleep, dreams of his life until this point flashed though his head. From his time on earth doing jobs for the Reds to his failures as a soldier, his time as a prisoner was the one that stood out the most, Kurt Silva's face stood out taunting him and Logan knew he survived the raid on Korlus since intelligence suggested he was on the space station they were going to hit tomorrow. Logan had not hated many people in his life, preferring to keep his enemies and his emotions separate as he found if you hated your enemies, it would affect your judgment, and if he was completely honest, he did not hate Kurt either however, he could think of nothing else. Though Logan did not share, his thoughts the dark truth was he not only wanted to but he needed to kill him before he could move on.

The other thought running though his head was Wesley's injuries and thinking if he could have done anything about it. Sitting up and shaking his head he got out of bed and started to look up anything he could find on Kurt Silva.

The first thing to show up on his search was Kurt's criminal record. It read like a laundry list. Logan could hardly believe the crimes he had committed. For lack of a better word, Kurt was a monster, he killed parents, kidnapped their children, and sold them into slavery, and he had raped, tortured and killed for the sheer fun of it. What was worse, Kurt was a suspected cannibal. He had betrayed humans to a degree that Logan did not even think was possible, selling information to batarian slavers who in turn had killed hundreds. Logan would enjoy killing him, but he needed to know more than just his record.

Logan had managed to find security footage of a hi-jacking Kurt had taken part in and the footage showed the fact that Kurt was a biotic. "That changes things," he said to himself as he re-watched the footage looking for weaknesses.

It was not until Logan walked into the briefing room to plan the attack that he had stopped watching the footage. Logan and the rest of his squad had been waiting for the Alliance ships to clear the way for the boarding parties and now the real fight would began.

"Ok, boys and girls this is it" Anderson said as he looked around the room "Commander Chavez you are now in charge of the squad, you should take a moment to choose your second in command"

Melina wasted no time and said simply "Shepard"

Anderson studied her for a moment before nodding, "Ok" before turning to Logan. "I guess that means you are promoted again this time to lieutenant" he cleared his throat and addressed the rest, "Now this raid will be different to last one. They will be waiting for us so expect heavy resistance," he told them as he looked out at the squad's that were going in.

"Reports tell us that the station has a large armory and various pirate groups, mostly batarian however, expect a large numbers of other groups. There are reports the human gang the Aztec's are there," Anderson told them as he looked at Logan, whose face was emotionless, but a dangerous look flickered behind his eyes. "Teams are being sent in at different locations; now we need the station intact as we can't just destroy it however your objectives are simple, take the station and capture or kill anyone who tries to stop you" Anderson looked at them all, many of them may not be coming back "good hunting".

Logan got onto the shuttle he was calm, something that could not be said about some of the others some of which had never even seen combat yet. He knew he had to try to calm them down and without putting too, much thought into it, he started singing, a somewhat known song in the Alliance.

" _I can hear what you're thinking, all your doubts and fears_ " he sung as he looked around and noticed a few smiles break out and some even started to join in, " _and if you look in my eyes in time you'll find the reason I'm here. And in time all things shall pass away, in time you may come back someday, to live once more or die once more but in time you time will be no more_ " Now all the marines were singing along loudly some even closing their eyes " _You know your days are numbered, count 'em one by one, like notches on the handle of an outlaw's gun. You can outrun the devil if you try, but you'll never outrun the hands of time, in time there'll surely come a day, in time all things shall pass away, in time you may come back some say, but in time you time will be over_ " The whole shuttle now was singing along now, every one of them understood on what needs doing and would be willing to fight to the death to archive it.

The shuttle came under fire before it even got into the hanger; the shuttle pilot tried to land the shuttle safely and looked like he would until a mounted heavy turret that had been set up in the hanger, tore through the front of the shuttle turning the pilot into paste, sending the shuttle rolling and flipping into the hanger. Fires broke out on the inside; Logan could hardly see though the smoke but soon found the door, realizing it was stuck he charged up his biotics and hit the door, ripping it off its hinges and sending it flying, looking back into the shuttle he saw that there were a couple of causalities and more than a few injuries.

"Dinnie, help the rest, I'll keep them off you" he ordered.

Matthew climbed out before he nodded and started to help the rest of them out "C'mon move it" he told them.

Logan could see the other shuttles took damage but most of them made it in safely, he could see Melina holding a large group off with her sniper rifle and with a snarl, he launched one group of pirates into the wall. Taking cover again before the turret could turn his way but was keeping the turret focused on him allowing the rest of the marines got outside of the downed shuttle; one marine fired a rocket taking out the turret sending debris flying and pirates running for cover.

Looking at the wounded he left the least wounded to look after the more seriously wounded "Call for a pick-up, tell them we are continuing on with the mission," he ordered. A few of the wounded did not like that, as they wanted to continue but knew that they would be more of a hindrance than a help.

"On me" Logan called out and started moving forward, shooting two more pirates who were trying to run, "Watch your six," he warned.

Matthew and Jamie joined him as well while Melina took another platoon another direction "Stay in radio contact" she ordered.

"Copy that" Logan replied.

Matthew would drop their shields before firing his pistol, one shot for every kill while Jamie was putting a clinic on how to use biotics launching pirates in every direction and using her pistol sparingly. Logan led them and a platoon into the heart of the station, the narrow hallways making the fighting intense Logan lost three more in the hallways and another four going from room to room. It was in one of these rooms that a pirate dropped his weapon and held his hands above his head.

"I surrender," he told them "don't shoot"

Logan looked at the pirate before thinking of the mess behind them and the fight ahead of them "Kick your weapon over" he ordered the pirate keeping his weapon trained on him

The pirate did and Logan moved closer to him before kicking him in the back of the knee dropping him to his knees, placed his pistol to the pirate's forehead and before the pirate could say anything, Logan pulled the trigger

"We can't take prisoners, it would leave our flank exposed" Logan explained calmly "no mercy and no prisoners understood?" he asked.

"Ooh-Rah" the platoon said at once.

Heading back into the hallway seeing more pirates of different races rushing to great them "Snipers take them out" Logan ordered "biotics on me"

Matthew was one of the snipers, switched his pistol for his rifle, and took aim and fired; the round tearing though the pirate's shields and vaporizing her head before he took cover the other snipers followed his lead taking out a pirate each with every shot.

"Push forward" Logan ordered as he used his biotics to force a cluster of pirates back and firing his shotgun into the group before they landed and throwing a grenade, due to the packed hallways the pirates could not get out of its way before it detonated, tearing though body parts and sending chunks flying.

Moving forward the marines shot any pirates they came across, until they reached an open area with cages some of the cages had people inside them mostly human but there were other races as well.

"Slaves" Logan said looking around for a release switch.

"Sir" said one of the slaves, a turian "the control panel is over there, and the pirates headed in that direction"

Logan looked at the alien "You military?" he asked.

"Was, I did my service as a combat engineer but got out and become a merchant, was selling power generators on human colony's that were just starting out" the turian said staring Logan dead in the face and not blinking like all turians seem to do.

Logan nodded and ordered another marine to open the cages, before picking up a pirates rifle "I am giving you a job to do and I expect you to do it have a problem with that?" he asked handing her the rifle.

The turian seemed to stand up straighter "No sir"

Logan nodded "Good, I want you to lead these people to safety, just head towards the hanger if you don't know where that is just follow the dead," he told him looking around at the others that were had been sold into slavery. Including a large group of children who the oldest would have been no more than seven years old all of which being comforted by an young woman, "ok kids, I need you to do something for me," he said as he kneeled down to be at their eye level. "I want you to hold hands and close your eyes you don't need to see what's outside this room," he told them thinking of the dead and body parts scattered, keeping his voice calm before he looked at the woman "you're getting out of here" who smiled weakly in response.

"Wait your trusting this alien with our lives?" complained one of the human captives.

Logan looked at the man "Do you have military training?" he asked coldly.

"Um…no" the man admitted.

"Then shut the fuck up, do as you are told and maybe you will live though this" Logan snapped, bigots always annoyed him and now was not the best time for it.

The turian nodded, her face determined "I won't let you down sir and thank you," she said as she turned and began leading the slaves of many races but mostly human out.

Logan looked back at the platoon "Let's finish this" he told them before contacting Melina "Commander Chavez, we just came across a large group of slaves they are heading towards the hanger, we are now heading after the remaining pirates" he told Melina.

"Roger that, we hit some resistance but we will meet up with you when we can" she said the sound of gunfire in the background "god damn it keep your head down, any causalities on your end?"

"Seven didn't make it" Logan told her "but we are fine we will see you soon"

"Roger that" came the reply.

After that, Logan led the platoon down the hallways going room-to-room leading to another large open area with cages and a large pit almost like an arena. These cages had varren in them though, Logan entered the room first, and before he could do anything, a biotic field threw the marines directly behind him back out into the hallway and the door closed behind him shutting him off from the rest of the marines.

"Don't worry about them," a familiar voice said, "my team is looking after them"

Logan turned to the sound of the voice and saw Kurt Silva standing there on a walkway, still glowing slightly blue from his biotics "I believe we have a score to settle?"

Logan narrowed his eyes "That's right you were going to hurt me for killing that asari slut weren't you?" he teased, trying to rattle the slaver "would you like to know how she died?" he asked coldly.

Kurt just smirked "I am going to hurt you now"

Logan rolled his eyes "How by talking me to death?"

Kurt laughed like a manic "No, like this" he screamed launching a biotic throw at Logan.

Logan dived for cover as the warp field narrowly missed him, before he took a grenade and threw it towards Kurt, whose biotic field knocked the grenade off course severely damaging the walkway Kurt was on, with the walkway creaking and groaning. Logan threw a biotic throw not aiming at Kurt but at the already weakened walkway and with a loud crash, the whole thing came down.

"C'mon you're not getting tired are you?" Logan teased as he stood up to look for him, shotgun still in his hands.

"You wish" Kurt snarled as he showed himself behind the walkway, which was now a mess of twisted metal "try this on for size", he said as he launched a singularity towards Logan.

Logan was barely able to avoid the powerful biotics, hanging on to a railing to stop him from being pulled into the deadly centre of the singularity, which easily picked up anything not bolted down and swirled it around and after a few seconds, it shut off.

'You think you're a match for me?" Kurt screamed as he sent parts of the walkway flying towards Logan "you were taught your biotics by failed soldiers, I was taught by a race of biotics" Kurt said as he sent another large piece of debris Logan's way.

"Lieutenant Shepard do you hear me?" Matthew Dinnie asked over the comms.

"Kind of busy right now" Logan said as another piece of metal narrowly missed his head.

Logan rolled into cover again but kept moving as large chunks of metal impaled the wall near him, taking aim Logan fired his shotgun twice, his shots bouncing off Kurt's shield, so he kept moving slightly closer to Kurt and every now and then he threw a piece of metal towards Kurt. The varren in the cages were now snapping at the bars and trying to get out, Varren were drawn into conflict as they knew that's where food would be, like how a shark is drawn to splashing in the water.

Logan smiled as he realized due the noise and flying objects Kurt had lost track of him but Logan had not lost track of him.

"Stop hiding and come out and fight" Kurt screamed in rage "you think your little soldier buddies will ever except a killer like you?" he asked still looking around for Logan and throwing objects around blindly. "You know Zorilla told me what she found out about you, cutting the lungs out of traitors, shooting people in the back while they tried to run away," Kurt yelled out before stopping and snorting some red sand.

As Logan just sat and waited, he knew he would never win a straight up biotic brawl with Kurt not while Kurt was off his head on sand, to a normal person red sand would grant them very minor biotic abilities. To a biotic however, it super charged them at the risk of burning them out quickly of course, with the amount Kurt could have been taking in his life, Logan did not like his chances of waiting for him to overdose, as Kurt's tolerance would be very high.

"We are the same you know?" Kurt yelled out taking yet another hit of sand.

Logan roared as he exploded from the shadows and opened fire with his shotgun at point blank range; Kurt's shields absorbed most of the impacts but still wavered under the assault. While Logan charged up a biotic pull and keep Kurt within close range, but as Kurt got close he grabbed the shotgun, flinging it down into the pit, and delivered a series of head-butts that broke Logan's nose.

Kurt laughed, "Ah there you are, this is better isn't it, up close and personal?" Kurt said as he went to use his assault rifle on Logan who recovered quickly and grabbed the rifle as Kurt fired it sending rounds into the ceiling. With both hands on the rifle now, it became a struggle over who would get control of it and in the struggle both of them lost their footing and fell backwards into the pit.

Landing with a thud that stunned both of them, the rifle landed not far away, as they made their way to their feet and the fight continued and due to the close proximity of the two, neither would give the other a chance for their biotics to be effective. Kurt tackled Logan into the wall of the pit and landed brutal uppercuts to his ribs, before Logan deflected a punch and countered with punches of his own.

"You're wrong, we are nothing alike," Logan said as he landed another punch to the jaw of Kurt "you should have heard your girlfriend squeal when I broke her fucking neck!" Logan screamed as he kneed Kurt in the face repeatedly.

Kurt snarled as he blocked a knee and drove Logan to the ground, "Right, you doing this for all the little boys and girls on earth right?" Kurt mocked as he landed punch after punch and started trying to smash Logan's head into the ground "you think you so fucking special don't you?" Kurt snarled, "You're not so smart now are you?"

Logan's head bounced off the ground twice before he got his knife free and stabbed Kurt in between his legs "Maybe not, but I'm smart enough to cover my balls in a fight" Logan snarled as he got his legs up and kicked Kurt off him and sent him back into a cage with a varren inside it.

The Varren reached though the bars just enough to grab Kurt and started trying to pull him into the cage by his arm, but since Kurt would not fit, the varren could not pull Kurt inside the cage. It did not stop it from trying however, the sound of bones snapping and tearing were drowned out by Kurt screaming in agony.

Standing up, Logan wiped his blade and looked over at Kurt who was still alive, but looked for his shotgun instead; picking it up and making sure, it still worked he began to walk away but was stopped by the sound of Kurt.

"Just shoot me," Kurt screamed.

Logan raised his gun towards Kurt before he thought better of it and lowered it, instead he climbed out of the pit while Kurt screamed for a mercy killing, once back out of the pit he contacted the rest of the marine's "You guys ok out there?"

"Yeah we are fine" Dinnie replied, "Commander Chavez joined up with us, we surrounded them and they gave up right away, we are getting the doors open now"

Logan stood there in silence and watched Kurt eaten alive, as he straightened his nose, "Copy that"

Logan could hear the doors behind him open again "Lieutenant Shepard, good to see your still alive" Melina said as she walked over to stand beside him "what kept y….." she went ask but stopped when she saw Kurt being eaten alive by varren "is he still alive?" she asked raising her pistol to deliver a mercy killing.

"Yeah he is" Logan said as he put his hand on her gun and lowered the gun, "he deserves worse" he said simply.

Melina just looked at Logan and asked, "Who is he?"

Logan hit the release controls to open the cage so the varren could finish him off "We met on Korlus, he tortured me and I shattered his bond mate's skull," he said coldly as watched the varren tear into Kurt's stomach.

Melina nodded "And now you're feeding him alive to his varren"

Logan nodded and cracked his neck before taking out a small amount of medi-gel and applying that to his broken nose, which thankfully was nowhere near as bad as the last broken nose he got. "The punishment must fit the crime," Logan told her as Kurt finally stopped struggling "these slaver's don't understand anything other than violence and fear, when they hear about this they will be scared and that fear will force them to panic and make mistakes"

Melina was silent for a moment "Did you order your men to kill any prisoners?"

Logan sighed; he knew this was coming "Only slavers and pirates that could affect our mission by leaving our flank open"

Melina smiled slightly "I agree, I still have to report this though;" she said, "c'mon we should finish up"

Making their way through the station freeing any slaves they found and getting into a couple of gun battles with the pirates that were left but after a hour or so the station was cleared and the marines headed back to their respective ships.

Next mission would be Torfan and that would be by tomorrow night. In the meantime, a new officer came on board to take control of the operations. A Major Kyle who would be leading all ground forces on Torfan and Logan was ordered to speak to not only Commander Anderson but Admiral Hackett and of course Major Kyle. After he got patched up Logan went to see them.

"Ah Lieutenant Shepard, come in and have a seat" Major Kyle said once Logan had reached his office, Logan took a seat and waited for Major Kyle to speak "I understand you shot prisoners on that space station, can you tell me why?"

Logan frowned, he wasn't sure if he liked the major, Logan looked around at Admiral Hackett and Commander Anderson before answering "leaving them alive would of left our flank wide open, as well as sending a message to the remaining slavers as well as making things easier moving forward"

Commander Anderson raised an eyebrow at that "What message?"

Logan looked at Commander Anderson and answered, his voice calm and calculating "That humans are not to be taken lightly"

Admiral Hackett spoke up at that point "How do you figure it makes things easier?"

Logan thought for a moment, then answered "I know how these types of criminal's think, they need to believe that they are they the toughest and meanest people in the galaxy, when it becomes clear they are not they will panic, when they panic they will make mistakes"

Major Kyle spoke up again; he did not seem to be happy "Is that why you feed one pirate alive to varren?" he asked with a slight snarl to his voice.

Logan ignored the Major Kyle's attitude, but answered it just the same "Yes that and they looked hungry" Logan answered coldly.

"Don't be clever Lieutenant, You went too far" Major Kyle said as he looked towards Admiral Hackett and Commander Anderson who said nothing, "I can't use him on Torfan" the Major said before looking down at Logan "too bloodthirsty"

Commander Anderson went to say something but Admiral Hackett stopped him "You need him down there, he has a lot of experience and is calm under fire"

Major Kyle did not like that and gave Logan a dirty look before leaving.

Admiral Hackett watched him leave "Go and get some rest, we attack Torfan is tomorrow"

Logan nodded, saluted and walked out, he ran into Hopkins on his way to the mess hall "Hey Hopkins so how did your question go?" he asked keeping his question vague in case Rachel was nearby.

"Have not asked her yet, was going to wait until after Torfan," he said quietly.

Logan nodded and asked "Any idea how you're going to do it?"

Jamal shook his head "Nah not yet, I just want it to be perfect"

Logan smiled and said, "No wonder you were always so quiet"

Jamal frowned "Oh?"

Logan chuckled "You were always wondering how to ask"

Jamal blushed and chuckled "Yeah guilty as charged" Jamal took drink before asking Logan "how about you sir?"

Logan shook his head "Nah, Jamie I think wanted something more but ..." he said as he took a bite from his plate, "I'm not ready to settle down yet"

Jamal nodded "Fair enough"

Logan finished his meal and went for a shower Torfan would be in morning, the fighting would be intense by all accounts the bunker heavily fortified and the slavers knew they were coming. The hot water ran over his head as Logan thought about the possibility of dying or seeing friends die on Torfan, he was not fooling himself on his chances, at least Kurt Silva was now dead and that made him feel like he had some closure about that issue at least.

The next morning he woke up and headed to the briefing room, he saw Jamie walk past him she did not seem pleased, with a shrug of his shoulders he headed into the room and since as he was told that this mission was going to be his N-7 mission he was a part of the planning. The idea was to cut the communications before getting to the main doors of the bunker using the cover of orbital bombardment and that was about as dangerous as it sounds, and then once the doors were open, the brutal close range fighting would begin.

Logan looked around; this was the largest number of marines he had ever worked with, he would be leading the teams involved in the first push into the bunker. While Melina was, still his Commander she was going to be in charge of cutting the communications while Major Kyle was going to be in charge overall.

"Don't move in until we give the word, that we have completed our objective" Melina ordered as her teams took off towards the massive radio tower.

"Yes Ma'am" Logan replied before turning to his team "get ready boys and girls, once the tower is down, we need to get to the doors so stay low and run. The bombardment will start soon and will be aimed in front of us and at the bunker, the guys up there, know what they are doing so relax and remember your training"

"Tower is down" Melina said, "Let's get to those doors"

Logan waved his hand to his team "copy that" he said to Melina before starting to run towards the doors while large explosions hit the bunker with enough force that the impacts could be felt where Logan was and as they got closer the shockwaves were strong enough to send a few of them stumbling.

Once they were closer, the bombardments stopped and a second later the bunkers defences took aim, opening fire, luckily Logan and the most of the marines were now close enough that they were able to avoid most of the defences. However, some were not so lucky, the heavy mounted turrets tore them apart, and some had stepped on land mines sending bits of blood and bone into the air.

"Dinnie, get these doors open" Logan ordered before looking at the rest of his team "once the door is open, grenades and smoke bombs first, biotics open them up and send them running"

The massive doors started to open and the team started filling the bunkers hanger with grenades and smoke bombs then wave after wave of biotic fields followed everything from singularities to lift and throw fields allowing them to gain an early foothold in the hanger. Once inside the marines slowly began pushing deeper into the base as Commander Chavez and Major Kyle joined them spreading out and only take a few casualties.

Major Kyle did a quick scan of the hanger once it was clear of hostiles "Someone work out if that elevator is the only way down"

Logan really did not want to go down to the next levels in an elevator "Sir we can't go down in an elevator, we would be cut to pieces when the doors open"

Major Kyle glared at Logan before another marine came over and told the Major about the stairwell leading down "I know that, that is why we are taking the stairs as well" he answered smugly

Logan couldn't believe his ears "The stairwell is a death trap as well, limited room, no cover" he explained "sir, why not place a demo charge in the floor and we can drop in through the ceiling of the next floor?"

Major Kyle shook his head "No, we do it my way"

Logan gritted his teeth but said, "Yes sir" and made his way towards the stairs

"Shepard I want you in the elevator," Major Kyle ordered

Logan did as ordered; Jamie and Melina were also with him along a small group most of whom Logan did not know, while Matthew, Jamal, Rachel and Major Kyle took the stairs and once inside the elevator Logan hit the button to go down one level. It felt as if they were signing their death warrant "Whatever happens, it has been an honour" Logan said, the others agreed and a moment later the doors opened.

Once the doors were open Logan and the others opened fire and poured out of the elevator, one of the marines who Logan did not know, was thrown backwards into the elevator by a biotic before being torn apart by automatic weapons fire. Melina knew to target the biotic salvers first and as soon as one showed it was a biotic, she would gun them down, this however made her a clear target and a slaver took aim and shot her in the face spraying her brains across Logan's face.

That slaver took a singularity from Jamie right in the chest, which picked up five slavers as well, five shots by the other marine Logan did not know took care of them. While Logan launched a throw, sending another four sliding across the room at that moment he could also hear the sounds of the rest of the marine attacking from the staircase, while the slavers had the numbers they did not have the training or the skill to fight two groups of attacks from two sides.

Logan wiped Melina's brains off his face and shot one slaver in the chest with his shotgun as he saw another marine cut in half as well as seeing another marine picked up by a biotic and lifted right into the line of fire. After a couple more minutes the fighting stopped and Logan made his way over to what was left of Melina Chavez, kneeling down he took a deep breath before collecting her dog tags. "I'll never forget you," he said closing her eyes; he did not dare move her as the exit wound on the back of her head would be horrific and he knew he could not handle that.

Major Kyle was clearly shaken "Status?" he asked as he tried and failed to project the image of being calm and failed.

Logan looked up and fought back the urge to scream at him "Commander Chavez is dead, Only Lieutenant Price and I are left" he said clearly having trouble keeping his anger in check, "we were cut to pieces"

Major Kyle looked down "I know that, we lost most of our people down the stairs, they set up mines on the stairs... I made a bad call" the Major was shaking slightly and went silent as a tear rolled down his face.

Logan shook his head and gathered up his team "Now we need to get to the next floor down, Matthew I want you and Jamal to check for security defences and see if you can turn them against them." Turning to the rest of them "as for the rest of you I want you to have a quick scout around on this floor and see what we have to play with"

Major Kyle snapped out of his daze "I am still in charge Lieutenant and I want you to supervise the security" he said clearly taking Logan's lead but still wanting to be in charge.

Logan turned his head "Yes sir" he said with a slight snarl, "I guess you're not going to want to take the stairs again?"

Major Kyle got angry and stepped up to Logan "I suggest you watch your tone Lieutenant, I am still in charge of this operation"

Logan did not back down "Major Kyle sir, you have let your personal feelings for me interfere with this mission, you made a terrible call which cost the lives of multiple marines including Commander Chavez and it is clear that you cannot focus on the mission at hand, I am relieving you of your command"

Major Kyle screamed in rage, "This is mutiny!"

Logan spun around and punched Major Kyle in the jaw breaking the Major's jaw and sending him to the floor. "Anyone who wants to take orders from the Major feel free to arrest me otherwise I want you to lead the Major to back upstairs and outside"

"Found a terminal over here sir" Matthew said after Logan had finished talking, "I'm following you"

Several other marines all agreed to follow Logan and none of them wanted to follow Major Kyle and two of the marines picked Major Kyle up off the floor and carried up him back upstairs.

Logan looked over at Matthew and nodded "See what you can do with it, I want access to the loud speakers" he ordered. A moment later, Matthew gained access to the loud speakers and handed Logan the receiver. "Attention Batarian criminals, this is Lieutenant Logan Shepard of the alliance navy lay down your weapons now and surrender peacefully, this will be your only chance to do so, you have ten seconds to comply". After a ten-second wait and no sign of anyone giving up, Logan turned to Matthew and nodded "do it"

Matthew smiled and worked on his omni-tool and turned some but not all of the automated defences against the batarians, while their own defences turned on them Logan ordered Jamal to drop a demolition charge down the elevator shaft.

The explosion shook the floor beneath Logan's feet and thick black smoke came back up the shaft and slowly began filling the room. "Now Hopkins, blow a hole in the floor and drop grenades and smoke bombs down then we follow" Logan said as he put his mask on to allow him to see clearly and breathe easy "everyone enviro helmets on, now we finish this"


	8. Beneath the Sands of Torfan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Torfan. Where Logan earns the nickname 'The Butcher of Torfan' Warning: The chapter contains graphic war scenes, you have been warned.

**Alliance command ship in orbit above Torfan:**

Admiral Hackett walked into the briefing room, closely followed by Commander Anderson.

"Major Kyle was relieved of his command after the losses getting into the base were higher than expected. The Major's inability to come to terms with the high body count so early into the mission effected morale. Also reports tell us he made a bad call that cost several soldiers including a commanding officer. His jaw was broken in two places by the same man who relieved him of command.." Commander Anderson paused when he saw Logan Shepard's name there "Lieutenant Shepard, well that changes things" he said.

Admiral Hackett stopped and placed his hands on the desk as other officers filled the room; Admiral Hackett then looked around the room before asking, "This is his N-7 assignment wasn't it?"

Commander Anderson nodded "Yes, he is also very capable, this mission is not a failure, this is the same soldier that broke his own arms to escape capture, and I fought alongside him and I trust him to complete this mission"

Admiral Hackett held up his hand "I believe you, and based on from what I have heard about Major Kyle, I agree Shepard is our best possible choice" Admiral Hackett said.

Admiral Hackett looked at the incoming intelligence and helmet camera video coming from beneath Torfan's surface on the screen, where the fighting was brutal and intense.

**Torfan/Slaver base/Three floors down/Approximately one mile below the surface:**

Logan had blown a hole in the floor and then used that to enter the floor below; dropping down and using the smoke bombs and grenades as cover he fired his shotgun three times in one direction before another marine had landed beside him and fired a burst of rounds in the opposite direction. While the visibility was bad, the marines could just point and fire in any direction and know that they would hit a slaver at least once. More marines were dropping in and while there were a few losses coming in, however compared to the thirty lost on the staircase alone and another twenty in the elevator, Logan thought he was doing some good already since taking over command from Major Kyle.

Logan had ordered all marines into small groups with two Adept biotics shielding the group with biotic barriers, an Engineer to keep the group shields at maximum efficiency while an Infiltrator dropped enemy shields and aimed for enemy biotics, while a combo of Sentinels, Vanguards and Soldiers would use nothing but pure firepower to push through enemy lines. The tactic was brutally effective and as the dead littered the halls, Vanguards and Sentinels had begun to use their biotics to throw the dead enemies back into the sea of batarian slavers who were pushing forward. The halls so overcrowded that their still alive counterparts and the mass of bodies pushing them forward sometimes held the dead upright.

As more bodies fell, more marines joined the dead, Logan took a round in the arm while a marine standing beside him got torn in half by a biotic and at least another five got caught in a blast by a grenade spraying body parts in every direction. Logan the ground hard, wind escaping his lungs ears ringing from the blast. He quickly made his way back up his feet and after an hour of intense fighting the slavers pulled back and retreated to the lower levels. Logan let them pull back, since he knew they could not escape and he needed to clear this floor before following them.

"Shepard, Sir?" Hopkins called out; he had recently been promoted to Service Chief however Jamal never thought he deserved it, thinking that he only got the position because of Wesley Callaway being crippled, in truth he was promoted due to excellent service something that is lost on Jamal somewhat.

"What is it?" Logan asked as he slapped medi-gel on his wounded arm before he begun look over the dead for anything he could use, however he could not help but notice how hot it was.

"We found a panic room, it appears to have a group in there," Jamal answered.

Logan thought it over for a few seconds "Anyway to get them out?"

"Not without maybe killing most of them," Jamal said looking over a layout of the base "it looks as if most of the cameras in this base are linked to rooms like that"

Logan thought about it for a moment "I want you to see what systems you can access on that thing; I want any threats inside taken care of before we open that room" Logan ordered "get them out, now do you have any ideas on how we can do that?" he asked.

Jamal knew where this was going "Yeah, but it's not going to be pretty"

Logan raised an eyebrow "since when is death pretty?" he joked, "so what will clear that room and not be pretty?"

Jamal nodded "True enough, well there are three options really" he said as he looked at his omni-tool, "I could increase the temperature inside until they either run out or boil alive"

Logan shook his head "You can do that, to a panic room?"

Jamal shrugged "Most engineers could do it" he answered.

Rachel shook her head "He is just being modest Sir, panic rooms have complex security systems that are meant to prevent hacking, something that he is doing anyway" she said almost proudly.

Jamal cleared his throat "Yes, well that option will take a few hours at least and that door can't be opened quickly meaning that most if not all will cook to death"

Logan took his helmet off since the smoke had cleared out, and the fire downstairs from the demolition charge they dropped down to the very lower levels had continued however despite showing signs that the level around the blast happened were still on fire, no smoke had reached them as it did before on the higher level. The blast which was only four levels below them meant either most of the smoke and therefore the fire was contained in sealed sections which was troubling if they were lucky they may of cleared out only a small portion. The same applied to the automated turrets or the slavers had reacted quickly and fought off the fires, which was unlikely.

After pouring water over his head, Logan sighed, "That will take too long, anything quicker?"

Jamal hit a few buttons on his omni-tool and another plan appeared for him "Ok, we can electrocute them by overcharging the power supply and redirecting it across the whole grid once the safety features are taken care of and…"

Logan just shook his head "Got it, we can fry them and what's wrong with that?"

Jamal blushed when he had to be cut off because he was getting too into his work but he quickly regained his composure "The amount of electricity needed, would vaporize anyone in that room into piles of ash" he said looking over at Rachel who seemed to be beaming at him.

"And the last option is, we cut off the air supply as I said before the door can't be opened quickly and they will suffocate, but based on how large the room is that could take a while as well."

Logan nodded "Fry them" he said.

Jamal nodded, pressing buttons on his omni-tool before he pressed enter and the lights started to flicker on and off, and a loud buzzing noise followed by a few small blasts from the explosive traps the slavers had set up in the room. After a few minutes, Jamal turned off the power and killed all the power in the panic room and with the computer terminals protected from power surges and power spikes, Jamal knew he could still get info out of those terminals. Walking to the door of the panic room, Jamal tested the metal door for electricity using a tool that is standard for all engineers. As the door opened, the smell of burnt flesh assaulted their senses and the sight of neat piles of ash, most were nothing but ash, but some piles still had a shoe or a omni-tool in amongst the ash but that was rare.

Jamal and the other engineers searched the panic room quickly but effectively, none of them wanting to be around the piles of ash and the eerie silence of the room, Jamal had linked his omni-tool to the terminals inside the panic room and was now using that link to get a better layout of the base.

"Lieutenant Shepard…" Jamal ran up to him and saluted, which Logan stopped him right away "Don't ever salute me on the field!" he ordered looking around "snipers aim for the ones giving orders and from a distance the only thing they can make out is salutes, besides they would shoot you right afterwards" Logan said chuckling softly.

Jamal frowned "I didn't know that…"

Logan smiled slightly to himself "Commander Chavez taught me that"

Jamal nodded quietly to himself "Are you ok sir? I know you were close to her"

Logan nodded, brushed his hand though his hair before opening his water "I'm fine, I need to focus right now… so ask me later" he said as he took a mouthful of water before pouring some over his head "now, what have you got?"

Jamal nodded "Well, the floors below us have the heaviest security and with defenses set up in every hallway and in almost every second room and on this floor we still have a few large sections to clear out including the armory"

Logan rolled his eyes before gathering everyone around "We are going to clear every room on every floor, do not move down a level until we have checked every room" he told them as he looked into their faces "any questions?"

"Yes sir, what do we do if we find a slaver?" asked one marine who Logan did not know the name of Logan thought for a moment before answering, "Kill them, we have already given them a chance to surrender, they refused," he said coldly and looking at the dead littering the floor before looked back at the marines. "Treat them as an enemy soldier, not a criminal, this is now a 'seek and destroy' mission, ladies and gentlemen," he told them.

Each of the marine nodded or looked surprised, the difference in treating the slavers like soldiers instead of criminals would mean that instead of trying to limit casualties and take survivors alive, treating them like enemy soldiers meant using maximum force and shooting to kill, shoot first and not bother with the questions later. What would follow would become known as the Massacre at Torfan and word would spread not just in Alliance space, but also throughout Citadel Space and the Terminus System which was filled with more slaver, pirates and criminal groups than anywhere else, and got everyone talking about humans and the brutal lengths they would go to defend themselves.

**Citadel/Window Nebula/Council Chambers:**

The three Council members had just received intelligence about the human raid on the slaver base of Torfan, human soldiers just got into the base, which thought to be an almost hopeless mission while the Council could not get involved and would not unless it became evident that the Batarian Hegemony funded the attacks on human colonies. They were however very interested in learning how humans would fight pirates and slavers and so far the council was impressed, humans had attacked the pirates supply lines first, something that was not a common tactic; in fact, it seemed to be a unique human tactic. Something that was not lost on the Turian Councilor, who had already, advised the Turian Hierarchy to stay on friendly terms with the humans, not from fear but from caution, nothing was really known about the humans except that it was impossible to predict for humans. The reports from his most senior officers had told him the same thing, officers who had fought on the ground at Shanxi, most of whom had a high level of respect for humans, after fighting them on the ground.

"Has the alliance taken any casualties?" the Turian Councilor asked.

"The alliance has taken some losses, however not enough for the mission to be seen as a failure" the Salarian Councilor said looking to his left towards the others.

The Salarian Union was very interested by the humans and their tactics. The Union preforms studies on all new species, including a study on humans as a whole. Everything from culture to military service and the study revealed that humanity was in fact a sleeping giant, that only three per cent of their whole population was in the Alliance, and if pushed humans could have an army four times the size of the Salarian Union and the Asari Republics combined. It is because of this and the trade agreements the Union had organized with the Alliance that the salarian were keen to stay on good terms with the Alliance even to the point of offering a colony for the alliance to use for shore leave as well as medical equipment.

"Do we know how far the alliance is willing to go?" the Asari Councillor asked.

The Asari Republics is the one council race on the friendliest terms with the alliance but even so were very concerned about a war between the Batarian Hegemony and the Human Alliance that would end badly for one of the two. The asari were the first allowed on Earth, Thessia, the asari home world was now a human tourist and 'honeymoon' hotspot on top of that humans found asari very attractive and open minded enough to be bond mates with them and the asari for the most part felt the same. As the asari Councillor she had to deal with a number of humans seeking her assistance who were the bond mates of asari or even living on asari colonies and even her daughter's bond mate was a human man and of course asari were also after reports on their human friends and bond-mates involved in the Skyllian blitz.

"No, we don't, but we will be watching them closely" the Turian Councillor answered.

**Torfan/Slaver base/Three floors down/Approximately one mile below the surface:**

Logan had just cleared another room, and ordered everyone to spread out into groups and to check every room, using grenades and shotguns to clear rooms and leaving no slaver alive. After they had taken care of the slavers on this level, planning to take the next level could begin.

"Sir, we can't go to the next floor the same way we got to this floor, it's too far down we have to take the stairs" Jamie told him.

Logan nodded "I know, scans tell us that they have defensive turrets set up below as well as a large number of slavers waiting"

Jamie bit her lip for a moment "Maybe we can get them to scatter?"

Logan shook his head, "Unlikely, they know we are here and they know how many of us there is," he told her before turning to an engineer "Find me anything we can use, Jamie I want your help"

After a few more smaller scale conflicts from the slavers that were left behind, it was here that Logan saw something he could use, a slaver was trying to save the life of another who had a bubbling chest wound. The two of them did not see Logan and the group Logan was with entered a bathroom. It became clear the slavers did not expect anyone to check the bathrooms as a long thick bloodstain marked the way they had fled.

"C'mon don't you die on me" the slaver said while trying to stop the blood loss "I know you do not want your son to grow up without a father…."

The slaver got no more out of his friend as Logan surprised the slaver by blowing the head off the wounded batarian before pointing the gun at the sole slaver alive.

"Maybe his son is better off now," Logan said with a cold ruthlessness behind his eyes "Who was he to you?"

"Go fuck yourself two eyes" the batarian cursed at him "that was my brother!"

Logan sighed, "I suggest you watch your mouth, I need to know a few things"

The slaver spat at Logan "I'm not telling you shit" Logan walked closer to the slaver and booted the slaver in the groin "trust me; you do not want to test me."

The slaver begun to curse at Logan but was quickly cut off with a punch to the head. "I need to know everything. What's waiting for us on the lower levels, access codes and how many are there here?" Logan warned him "there is no part of this story that ends well for you".

The slaver spat in his face again and that was when Logan asked again only not so polite.

**Alliance command ship in orbit above Torfan:**

Admiral Hackett watched the screen as Logan got the answers he was looking for; only the method he used to get the information was in question. Logan took a combat knife to all four eyes of the batarian, blinding the slaver before rewarding the slaver by shooting him in the head. The other senior officers were divided on the torture of the slaver. Some agreed with the need for the info and had no sympathy for batarian slavers, on the other hand, the rest of the officers were outraged and some even wanted to have Shepard court marshalled and bought up on charges.

Commander Anderson could only watch as a more complete picture of Logan Shepard came into focus, and Anderson could only wonder the amount of extreme violence the man had seen before joining the Alliance. The ease he cut the eyes out almost as if he was making his lunch was very unnerving to most people, but to Anderson it looked more like second nature, like that in Logan's mind it was just a part of his job like cleaning his gear. Anderson could only hope that not only he would survive but be able to fight to keep his job.

Admiral Hackett on the other hand saw a soldier that would stop at nothing to complete his mission and soldiers like that were very valuable in N-7 "Any word on Major Kyle?" he asked

"Major Kyle is talking but he isn't making a lot of sense," one of the other officers told him "Doctors think he is shell shocked and suffering from P.T.S.D"

Admiral Hackett nodded with a sigh "We will leave Shepard in charge for now then. How many losses?" he asked looking at Commander Anderson.

Commander Anderson looked at the reports he had in front of him and replied "Over two hundred" Admiral Hackett looked back at the screen as Logan got creative and did something no one expected.

**Torfan/Slaver base/Three floors down/Approximately one mile below the surface:**

Logan put his knife away, picked up the head of the slaver, and placed a large demolition charge in the slaver's mouth. They had now cleared this floor, moving into position at the top of the stairs with a slight nod to the marines, telling them to be ready. Logan threw the severed head down the stairs, sending it bouncing down the stairs. The sounds of angry batarians reacting to the decapitated head of someone they knew bounced down the stairs. This swiftly followed by a lot of cursing when they saw the demolition charge in its mouth. A loud explosion shook the floor.

The marines rushed down the stairs and as they ran down the stairs, explosive traps shredded dozens. As they reached the next floor down, they could see hundreds of batarians dead and dying. However the blast did not kill all of them and there was still a heavy turret active which came to life as soon as it detected the marines and begun spewing death in their direction. A biotic throw launched Logan backwards and with a thud and a slight pop, he could feel his shoulder dislocate. With a groan, as he stood, he saw friends and the closest he has ever had to a family turned to paste from the heavy turret. With no cover, the only thing they could do is push forward. Once again, the halls filled with the dead and Logan used biotics to grab a slaver and use him as a shield, something the other marines copied.

"GRENADE!" someone yelled out and with a massive explosion, the turret fell silent Logan had gotten some breathing room now and fired a biotic throw towards three slavers sending them sliding across the floor.

It did not take long before they had cleared the bottom of the stairs there would of course be more on this level, however Logan was going to use psychological warfare on the remaining slavers.

"Hopkins, start the upload," Logan ordered.

Jamal nodded before punching a few buttons on his omni-tool, soon after music started to play loudly only one song though, and due the fact of what was going on Logan knew this song would affect anyone in a short space of time.

" _Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don't worry be happy_ " the music played and filled every room of the base.

Logan got everyone moving again and split his forces up so one group could target the main terminal room while the rest would keep the slavers busy by going from room to room. In one, group Jamal, Rachel and Matthew as second in command, while Logan joined the room clearing team. As the marines searched the rooms and came closer to the terminal room the fighting picked up again, two more marines died instantly with another fifteen badly wounded. However, the cost to the slavers was absolute; there were no wounded and no prisoners. Slavers started throwing their weapons down hoping for mercy; however, the marines showed no mercy. As slavers surrendered, the marines simply shot them in the forehead and kept moving.

" _In every life we have some trouble, when you worry you make it double_ " the music continued.

"I am not going to lie to you; the main terminal room is the most defended part of the base according to the batarian we 'spoke' to" Logan said as he thought he was sending them to their deaths "But fight smart and use any and every advantage you can, we need that terminal room no matter the cost, good hunting and stay safe"

The large group of marines heading for the terminal room would have known most of them, if not all of them, would be wiped out, but every one of them stood ready to die if necessary "Sir, it's been an honor"

Logan nodded, "The honour was all mine," he said, as a bead of sweat rolled down his neck. It was far too hot due to Torfan's close proximity to its star, leaving the moon a barren wasteland.

As they went from room to room there was so much confusion during the running gun battles that at one stage Logan had his shotgun knocked from his hands and resorted back to his biotics. Throwing slavers into walls and crushing the throats of any that were too close. Meanwhile the fighting to breach the terminal room now reached a boiling point.

**Terminal room/Torfan/Slaver base three floors down/Approximately one mile below the surface:**

Matthew ordered them to move forward as platoons of batarians had lined up and waiting for them along with three mounted turrets. The turrets opened fire before the batarians did cutting down five marines with each burst. One slaver took a round though his arm as he was about to throw a grenade which dropped at his feet and half a second later an explosion tore him apart.

"Move forward!" Matthew yelled as he shot the face off on slaver before turning on another.

Jamal was a short distance away. Known as someone who always kept his anger in check, this changed when he saw Rachel burned alive by a slaver armed with a flamethrower.

As she screamed, he broke ranks, with a scream of anguish ran forward, and shot the slaver in the face. In an uncontrollable rage, he blasted another two slavers with his shotgun. Turning again Jamal overloaded the shields of four slavers and since he was close enough he slapped a demolition charge onto the face of one slaver, spun him around kicked him in the back to send him stumbling back towards his friends. A second later, an explosion shredded a large group of slavers.

Jamal took one round though his leg, it did not slow him down. Powered by grief and blind rage, he kept moving, his shotgun over heating so quickly he swapped weapons for whatever was nearby just so he could keep firing. In the thick of the batarians, Jamal did not seem to care that he was alone; instead, Jamal became a whirlwind of death and took another round in his stomach. Snarling, Jamal kept going bleeding from multiple wounds and fighting like a wounded animal as the engineer sent slavers running in fear from him. None got very far. Jamal's wounds begun to slow him down, he was five feet from Rachel's burnt body when he took another round in his chest. Falling to his knees, he looked up at Rachel's lifeless body, and in a seemingly inhuman act, he stood back up, where a slaver stabbed him twice in the stomach. Jamal snarled and looked him in the eyes, grabbing the knife by the blade, which sliced through his hand as he returned the knife into the slaver's throat.

He was crawling towards Rachel when another slaver shot him in the back of the head. He was less than three feet away from her, the engagement ring still in his pocket.


	9. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan pays the cost of war. Who will live? Who will die?

**Alliance command ship in orbit above Torfan:**

Admiral Hackett watched the screen that displayed brutal close-quarters hall-to-hall fighting, under the sands of Torfan. The closest thing Admiral Hackett had seen to hell.

"They're dropping like flies," said one of the many support workers that was helping to coordinate with the command ship.

"Get them outta there!" Commander Anderson ordered as he watched the lights that represented each marine go dark, every few seconds another two would go dark.

"Negative if we leave now we will never get them outta there, push forward," Admiral Hackett ordered. "How many have we lost?"

Commander Anderson looked at the numbers. "Over half and climbing".

Admiral Hackett watched the screen knowing he just sentenced hundreds to their deaths.

**Torfan/Slaver base/Four floors down/Approximately two and half miles below the surface:**

Shepard had just reached the fourth floor when he saw something he wasn't expecting, human slaves running towards them armed with nothing but work tools, the look of nothing but fear and desperation in their eyes, the slaves were too far gone, terrified of disappointing their Batarian masters more than the marines. Logan tried to limit casualties however since the slavers were using the slaves as cover, Logan saw no other choice and he opened fire gunning down slavers and slaves alike.

Jamie used her biotics to lift the slaves out of the way of gunfire, however this left her open to a slave swinging a mining tool, punching a hole into her stomach, the look of surprise on her face. Fearing for her life, she lashed out and shot the slave in the face however, she did not see the slave behind her who hit her in the back with a wrench and another slave hit her again this time in the head that staggered her, there was just too many of them.

Using her biotics to try to save her life, she tore into the slaves and slavers alike, the loss of blood and fear for her life powering her biotics to a superhuman degree, ripping one slave in half before throwing another four into a wall so hard there was only a stain where their bodies slammed against the wall. However, she could not keep this up for long, another mining tool hit her in the side only this time her stomach opened up and spilled her intestines on her feet.

Slaves swarmed Logan as well, however due to Logan's martial arts training he did not have to rely on only biotics. A mob fights sloppy leaving them open to someone with Logan's training who if he had a choice would rather fight a mob than a really tough customer who knows what they are doing. Shotgun knocked from his hands, Logan used anything at his disposal snapping one slave's neck, spinning around, and punching another in the throat, crushing her windpipe before he threw another group back using biotics before picking up his shotgun when he saw Jamie go down.

Making his way over to her, Logan threw the slaves surrounding her away from him and after a few more minutes the slaves were dead and the slavers were retreating again.

"This is bad isn't it?" Jamie asked blood pouring from her mouth.

Logan looked down; her intestines were spilling onto the floor as well as a pool of blood. Logan did not say a word and only nodded.

Jamie groaned in pain before looking up at him. "I have seen this movie before, I'm fucked," she said while coughing up blood "I want you to do something for me".

Logan nodded and took her hand "Name it".

Jamie swallowed and replied, "I know how you feel about me but I always loved you" she raised her blooded hand to place a finger across his lips "it is ok, I am fine with it I know you don't love me back not like that anyway" she coughed yet again "so just this once….lie to me".

Logan took a deep breathe to hold back the tears "I love you," he said as he kissed her mouth gently.

Jamie smiled up at him before groaning in pain again "Don't let me die…not like this" she begged looking down at her stomach.

Logan sighed and slowly removed his pistol from his holster and held it up so she could see it, when she did see the gun she nodded and said, "See you in hell".

Logan shook his head "If I see you anywhere near hell, I'll kick your ass out of there" he said as he closed her eyes and put the barrel to her chin and pulled the trigger, ending her agony.

Logan fought back tears and thought to himself ' _laugh now, cry later'_. Standing back up he checked on the terminal room team.

"We lost a lot sir" Matthew replied over the headset "Marden and Hopkins included"

Logan sighed, "Shit, did you get in at least?"

"Just did, switching the rest of the defences on them now" Matthew said "and look what I have found, turns out this base has escape tunnels sending you the locations now"

"Good job, I want you to get a team together and head on ahead, we are going to bury these fuckers," Logan ordered

Matthew smirked "I got an idea how to do that sir"

"Good, then why are you wasting time talking to me?" Logan asked, as he looked at his omni-tool the locations for the escape tunnels and the armoury he headed towards the armoury one floor down and the majority of slavers and pirates were waiting there, getting them out would be difficult to say the least.

**Torfan/Slaver base/Armory/Five floors down/Approximately three miles below the surface:**

Logan led a team down to the armoury, seeing two Krogans heading towards them, but before he could give any orders, the Krogans opened fire, one with a flamethrower while the other threw a biotic field launching a group of five into the air. Logan swore to himself, he did not like Krogan not because of anything negative as others did, no he did not like the Krogan as they were a pain in the ass to kill and moved a lot quicker than say the elcor did and a krogan biotic was infinitely more dangerous. As more slavers joined in the fight, Logan focused on the Krogan biotic hurling a dead pirate in his direction using biotics while firing his crusader shotgun into the chest of the krogan taking down his shields. The Krogan recovered quickly and swatted the dead pirate out of his way before throwing a warp towards Logan that missed by mere inches. Logan grabbed a slaver and used the batarian as a shield while the krogan unloaded with an assault rifle until it overheated. Logan discarded the dead batarian and charged at the krogan before dropping down and baseball sliding through the krogan's legs with one foot raised catching the Krogan in the groin, on his back and looking up at the large and now enraged alien.

Logan rammed the crusader shotgun into the krogan mouth "Say AHH!" he mocked before he pulled the trigger two times blowing the krogan's head completely off.

Logan stood back up and saw the other krogan with the flamethrower was dead and his weapon used against fellow slavers by another marine. The hallways choked with smoke and the smell of burning flesh, the marines pushed forward and encountered more slavers armed with heavy weapons, flamethrowers and grenade launchers mostly and a small handful with heavy machine guns. The don't worry be happy song still playing in the background, marine snipers targeted the slavers armed with flamethrowers causing them to explode in a ball of fire, before the snipers took aim at the slavers armed with grenade launchers using the long hallways to pick them off, like fish in a barrel, no slavers even got close.

Looking around, Logan could feel a small trickle of blood run down his forehead and saw that others were just as worn down as he was but with the end so close, they pushed forward. Rounding another corner they could see the door leading to the armoury but outside was a group of Human teenagers, the oldest would have had to of been fourteen with the youngest at eight. All armed with pistols the oldest, a boy, raised the pistol towards Logan, the look of fear and blind terror could be seen behind his eyes not for Logan or the marines but what would happen if he failed his masters. That fear compelled him to point a gun at the very people trying to help him but something else made him hesitate and Logan had to try and get at least some of the slaves out of here.

Looking over the sights of his gun at the young teen and not looking away, "Do you know who we are?" Logan asked as the other marines had the guns ready like Logan though they did not wish to open fire on children however, the situation could easily turn into a bloodbath.

The teen shook his head, gun still pointed at Logan, the look in the boys eyes told Logan that the boy would shoot if pressed; the gun in his hands remained steady

Logan pointed to the Alliance logo on his chest "We are on your side, we are here to help"

The teen snarled slightly "There is no help, only service"

Logan shook his head "You're wrong, we are here to help, all you have to do is put the gun down and you can walk out"

The teen shook his head "NO!" he screamed "YOU'RE WRONG!" the pistol shook slightly "only fit to work and die, nothing else, seen what happens when you try and run, hurt you, burn you, melt you" the teen said tears welling in his eyes "old ones first then ones who run or don't do as told"

Logan blinked, sweat rolled into one eye burning it slightly "They are dead, they can't hurt you anymore" he told the teen. "You can hang onto the gun, just lower it ok?" he asked lowering his own pistol "like this" he said keeping an eye on the teen "we can walk out of here, just let us past and we will make sure the rest of them can't hurt anyone ever again"

The teen lowered his pistol slightly "No one will stop us if we leave?" the teen asked "and I can keep the gun?"

Logan nodded "No one will stop you and as long as you don't point it at anyone I don't think they will have a problem with that"

The teen sighed deeply before turning to the others "Let's go" he said as they slowly walked past the marines almost as if they expected it to be some kind of trap. After the children had left, Logan got the armoury door open and came under fire almost right away, taking cover, Logan pulled off his grenade belt armed one grenade and threw the whole belt in along with a demolition charge. "Seal them in" he ordered, a few seconds later several explosions shook the walls and the flames shot past the marines in cover.

Another marine worked on closing the door again, while the slavers on the inside of the armoury who were not blown to pieces, tried to escape from the room with only one entrance with a thick blast door, what they had thought was a good defensive location was going to become their tomb. A few of the slavers begged the marines to let them live even throwing down their weapons, but the marines kept them in the room and shot any that tried to get past. Once the doors closed again, Logan ordered the doors to be welded shut trapping the remaining slavers inside the room, effectively burying them alive.

After a few hours Logan had reached the last of the escape tunnels, it also had the most amounts of slavers in the tunnel itself, and waiting to get in, Logan and the marines opened fire, gunning them down before using a flamethrower to kill the rest in the tunnel. Looking around Logan saw a bloodied teddy bear just lying there beside a pile of ash, reaching down Logan picked up the bear and looked at the child's toy, it was missing an eye and had seen better days but Logan could not bring himself to put it back down. Despite the carnage and slaughter of this place, the toy told Logan there was innocent lives ruined here, how many times did the child who owned this toy cry for help? Only to never to get it, before he could think any more about it he was interrupted.

"Shepard sir, I have set it up I just need for you guys to get clear" Matthew said cryptically

Logan frowned "What did you do?" he asked not sure if he would like the answer

"Demolition charges are set throughout the base and once we are clear I can sink this place into the dirt" Matthew replied.

Logan nodded to himself "On our way now"

**Citadel/Window Nebula/Council Chambers:**

"The Alliance has taken heavy losses, based on the injured being bought back out" the Salarian Councillor said to the other two council members.

The Turian Councillor looked at the reports and noticed something the Salarian Councillor did not mention "There is no wounded batarians?" he asked

The Salarian shook his head "No batarian wounded, it appears as if the humans executed them" he looked over at the Asari Councillor who had a look of shock on her face. The Asari Councillor had hoped the young race would arrest the criminals and bring them up charges of slavery, murder, terrorism and kidnapping in a court of law, the fact they did not showed the Asari Councillor that humans were far more dangerous than first given credit for.

The Turian Councillor looked at the Asari Councillor and said "They are showing us what they are capable of" he explained "this was not just a message for the batarians but for all of us, to remind us of what lengths they would go to protect themselves."

The Asari snapped her head towards the Turian Councillor, Turians did not like humans very much and sometimes that mistrust would affect his judgement however the Turian Councillor often claimed that she did not want to see humans for what they really are "Humans want peace with the council why would they wish to send a message to us?"

The Salarian Councillor spoke up next and unlike the other two had no emotional connection to the humans at all, so like most Salarians he looked only at the facts and nothing else often missing the bigger picture. "We are not completely trusted yet and many humans believe the Turians will attack again," he said turning to stare at the Turian Councillor who only stared back not saying a word.

**Torfan/Slaver base/Entrance/Surface of Torfan:**

Logan finally made it back outside and nodded to Matthew who pressed a button causing a large explosion followed by the slaver base start to collapse and sink into the ground, burying any slavers still in there alive.

"Mission complete" he said over the headset "need medical for various injuries" he said before he had a look around at what was left of the marines who went into hell and survived , the haunted look in their eyes could be easily seen, some of them would never be the same again. After Logan checked on the marines he made his way to a quiet spot for himself and sat down and a quick look around to make sure he was alone. Once he was sure he was alone, the stress of what he just experienced hit him suddenly, tears streamed down his face and his hands were shaking uncontrollably, taking a deep breath and staring at his hands while flexing them, he willed them to stop shaking and after a great amount of effort his hands stopped shaking.

Within the hour, a transport landed on the surface of Torfan, the marines as well as the slaves they had freed transported back to the command ship in orbit above Torfan. Once on the transport, Logan noticed that the pilot was giving him a dirty look as if he was a murderer, but Logan did not let it bother him and ignored the pilot. However, the pilot was not the only one that had a problem with what happened on Torfan and soon he would become the most talked about and infamous marine in the Alliance.

**Three months later/Alliance Military court/Earth:**

Logan stepped out of military police escort, the two officers led Logan into the courtroom, and once again, protesters threw rubbish at the man now known as the 'Butcher of Torfan', calling him a monster and a killer, there were others though who supported Logan's actions at Torfan, to them he was a hero who avenged their loved ones. It was a long trial, the prosecutor had bought in many witnesses, far more than Logan thought he would be able to find and Logan even had to have a full psych evaluation to prove he was sound of mind. Every day he arrived at the courtroom news crews followed his every move, trying to get any comment they could from him but Logan never said a word instead he would only stare into the cameras as he passed.

Logan could not believe the charges brought against him that were the murder of three hundred and fifty human slaves, torture of enemy captives, the executing of enemy prisoners. Since Logan was in charge, he was accountable for every execution that occurred on Torfan, which was close to two thousand. It was believed that there was over nine thousand and only two thousand tried to surrender, and of course the assault of a commanding officer, Major Kyle.

What Logan and his legal team had to prove was that Logan acted with the information he had at the time and that the actions that occurred on Torfan were justified and that it was necessary to complete the mission. The prosecutors tried to prove that Logan was a cold-blooded killer, whose actions had nothing to do with the success of the mission and had more to do with xenophobia and deep-seated mental issues.

"Please state your name for the courtroom," the prosecutor said

"Lieutenant Logan Shepard" Logan answered

"Can you tell me about the mission on Korlus?" the prosecutor asked

"Objection, relevance your honour" Logan's lawyer spoke up

The Judge looked at the prosecutor and said, "If you have a point I suggest you make it"

The prosecutor nodded "Now Lieutenant on Korlus you were captured isn't that correct?"

Logan didn't like where this was going "Yes I was" he answered looking at the prosecutor

The prosecutor clicked a few things on his Omni-tool "You were tortured there was well weren't you?"

Logan really did not like this prosecutor "Yes"

"An Asari tortured you and because of that you can't stand any alien can you?" the prosecutor snapped suddenly the prosecutor was known to over only lost two cases in his career and he now had the defendant on the stand and on the ropes or so he thought. "So on Torfan you wanted to kill didn't you? Be honest if not to this courtroom than be honest to yourself you wanted to kill them not because they were slavers but because they were alien isn't that right?"

Logan wondered if the prosecutor would be this smug with his foot on the lawyer's throat. "I was tortured by a human on Korlus" Logan said simply "the asari came later and only did a forced mind meld"

That stopped the smug lawyer in his tracks and over the course of the trial the prosecutor had mental health experts including the same doctor Logan had to talk to after being tortured. Fortunately, for Logan his defence lawyer was just as good and had been able show the jury small pieces of footage that highlighted just what the slavers did exactly, and had bought in other soldiers to speak on Logan's behalf and even bought in Matthew. The Prosecutor bought in Major Kyle and it was unclear if the Major being on the stand helped or hindered Logan's case since it was painfully clear that Major Kyle was now a broken man.

The closing statements made by both sides were compelling the Prosecutor had painted Logan as a mentally damaged killer who should be relived from active duty and held accountable for his crimes.

Logan's defence was simple; his lawyer walked towards the jury and in his hands was the teddy bear Logan had found on Torfan. "Lieutenant Shepard did what we train men and women like him to do, to protect us" he said pacing back and forth. "Now their job is difficult and they can't be everywhere at once so sometimes their job is not just to protect us but to seek justice" he said as he stared at the bear. "You have all seen the footage, you all have an idea of what Torfan was like, and the brutal truth is we need people like Lieutenant Shepard watching over us while we sleep"

The defence finished off by telling the jury the story of the bear "This bear was found on Torfan," he said letting them hold it and look at it. "It was found next to a pile of ash, whoever this bear belonged to can we say they received justice now?" he asked "let my client continue to do what we need him to do, protect our children from the monsters in the dark" he said before turning back and sitting back down.

The whole trial lasted ten months, no time to mourn the losses of his friends although he did appear at the funerals but stayed away from the families after the Hopkins family had spat on him. Logan cleared of all charges and the ruling was that Logan had acted according to the mission however; the ruling was not a popular one. Walking out of the courtroom, the mob almost lynched Logan but the military police escort rushed him away before the angry crowd did anything.

**Two months later/Last Chance bar/Bekenstein/Window Nebula:**

The turian bartender working at the Last Chance bar saw one of her newer regulars walk into the bar, a human solider by the name of Logan Shepard and the bartender could not work out if she had taken pity on a burnt out soldier or she was starting to like her men to be of the soft-skinned variety. This would be not that surprising, surrounded by humans and she did always have a thing for aliens and humans were new to her, it was the main reason she bought this bar she found humans fun to be around for the most part but whatever her reasons it was clear he only came there to drink. Therefore, despite how drunk he was, she let him stay, despite him being so drunk he had trouble-standing upright.

Logan stood up and slowly made his way to the toilet, when a man holding a drink bumped into him "Hey asshole" the man said grabbing Logan by the shoulder "you're going to buy me a new drink"

Logan did not even look at him "You bumped into me" he slurred, "fuck off" he said before nudging past him

The bartender had been around humans long enough to know when a fight was going to happen "Here on the house" she offered trying to keep the peace

The man pointed at her "Shut up skull-face, this is between me and him"

Logan stopped walking and turned "So why should I buy you a drink again?" he asked

The man walked closer to Logan, Logan could see the other guys with him all watching, they think their numbers keep them safe "How drunk are you or are you just fucking stupid?" he said pushing Logan on the chest.

Logan leaned in closer "Don't do that" he said quietly

The man did not take Logan's warning and punched Logan in the side of mouth, Logan's mouth filled with blood right away and after spitting a large glob of blood said "Try that again" he dared him leaning forward and pointing to his temple

"Fuck him up Jake," said one of his buddies

Jake shook his head "You crazy fuck" he said that as he threw another punch at Logan's head, this one never touched him. Logan blocked the punch before smashing his glass over Jake's head before wrapping his arms around Jake's right arm locking it up and bending it at the elbow the opposite way to its intended direction, spinning into Jake, Logan then threw him by his broken arm over up over the bar and into the bottles and beer taps.

Logan then turned to see his friends rushing towards him "What? He wanted a drink I got him one" as a man armed with a pool cue swung for his head. Logan stumbled towards the man so the pool cue went past him before kicking him in the groin grabbing by the back of the head and running his face into the pool table so hard it dislodged a tooth and left it imbedded into the pool table.

The last man pulled a knife and rushed Logan before he could distance himself from the pool table, slashing at Logan and barely missing him. Logan grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it violently to one side he bent the man at the elbow standing behind him now and drove him face first into the bar, still controlling the arm he took control of the knife and stabbed the man right though the shoulder blade sticking the blade into the bar top.

"You shouldn't play with knives," he said simply as he staggered towards the toilet as if nothing had happened, paid for his drinks and the damages and went to leave.

A woman sitting in one corner of the bar had watched the whole thing, he was the target that much was clear and she now knew why the price was so high, Logan Shepard was not an easy target. She had done this for many years now and most men never see her coming, based on his reputation, she knew he was a bit of a womanizer to some degree, meaning he would not think anything of it if she approached him, as long as she looked the part. Grabbing her bag, finishing her drink, glancing over at the three men she had paid to fight Shepard, it was worth every bit of the two thousand credits she had paid them. She made her way towards Logan swaying her hips deliberately, she needed to get his attention and keep it and once he is dead, she would have more money than she knew what to do with, she smiled genuine smile as she walked closer to him

"Hi, I'm Crystal" she said smiling warmly

Logan looked at the woman "Hi".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it is taking awhile to get to the events of the first game but I promise all this stuff is relevant to the story


	10. Running the Gauntlet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan has to deal with his new found fame after Torfan.

**Last Chance bar, Bekenstein, Window Nebula**

Logan got into a taxi, helped by the woman he had just met, a beautiful woman with long black hair, dressed in expensive clothes and make up, the woman had told him that she was going to help him home, since taxi's wouldn't stop for him due to how drunk he was.

"So what's your name again?" Logan asked

The woman smiled "I told you my name before remember? I am Crystal" she told him as she ran a hand up his leg.

Logan nodded and stumbled before dry heaving, "So why are you at a place like that?" he asked motioning towards where the bar was, as he looked at her and noticed her expensive looking clothes, strange, Logan thought

Crystal smiled "I don't like the large crowds at the bigger bars" she answered sweetly as the taxi neared the hotel that Logan was staying at while on leave.

Logan thought about her answer for a moment, something about it seemed odd "You're not worried about the type of people that go to bars like that?" he asked still wondering why a woman wearing clothes like that would be at a dive bar like Last Chance

Crystal smiled "What you mean people like you?" she asked as she rubbed his chest.

Logan chuckled "Well what is it that you know about me?" he asked turning his head towards her, his bloodshot eyes staring at hers "I mean I could be a psycho killer for all you know"

Crystal looked at the window and noticed the taxi had stopped "I doubt that Logan" she said

Logan was very drunk and if he wasn't he may of noticed that he never told her his name, but he did however notice that something was wrong he just couldn't think of it.

Crystal helped Logan from the taxi "C'mon I can't take advantage of you out here" she said laughing

Logan frowned; his mind was almost screaming at him that something was very wrong "You like your men to be drunk?" he asked as they walked towards his room, one of his arms draped over her shoulder as she led the way and opened the door for him.

"Go and have a shower and when you get back out, this will be waiting for you" she said smiling seductively as she undid her top letting her breasts fall out of her top, not answering the question but kissing him instead.

Logan raised his eyebrows at that and went into the shower "Don't start without me" he joked and started the shower.

Once he was out of the room, Crystal did her top back up and took out a pair of black gloves along with a small pistol, she could hear the shower going and she walked in, pistol behind her back. "I got bored with waiting" she said seductively but when she pulled back the shower curtain she saw it was empty and right at the moment she felt a gun being pressed to the base of her skull.

"Now that's new," Logan said with sarcasm in his voice "I have done some kinky shit, but I have never needed a gun and a pair of gloves to get down" he said "who are you and do not lie to me" he warned.

Crystal sighed, "What gave me away?"

Logan chuckled more to himself than anything "Your clothes" he said, pushing the gun against the base of her skull "no woman who can afford those sort of clothes would go to bars like that" he told her "too risky and you let my name slip, when I hadn't told you my name." He told her while looked her over; she was in very good shape, like a pro athlete and based on her choice of pistol "you're a pro aren't you?"

Crystal chuckled to herself "I'm not a prostitute" she joked, she stopped laughing when Logan had lightly tapped the gun on the back of her head just enough to hurt and remind her he was not playing games.

"Don't fuck with me bitch or I will give you a new hole to breathe out of" Logan warned "who hired you?"

Crystal gritted her teeth in pain before answering, "Hired? No one hired me" she said laughing at him "it's like it's open season on you soldier boy" she laughed "I'm surprised that no one else has found you yet"

Logan did not like the sound of that "How much is the contract?"

Crystal laughed, "Enough to fund a private army" she laughed "guess you pissed off some very rich people," she said laughing even louder

Logan sighed, "Well thanks for the info but I think we will have to call it a night," he said mocking her

Crystal suddenly stopped laughing, "You can't shoot me," she said

Logan laughed at that "Oh? Why is that? You tried to kill me remember?"

Crystal seemed at lost for words "But I have surrendered, you aren't meant to shoot me, you're an Alliance soldier and there are rules for soldiers"

Logan chuckled "Yeah, tell that's what Hackett keeps telling me"

Before he could pull the trigger Crystal spun and knocked the gun away from her head and hit him three times in rapid secession once in the groin, one to the nose and then clapped both her hands over his ears stunning him, in that moment she took aim with her gun.

Logan was stunned but recovered quickly, slapping the gun from her hand, he threw a punch at her but she avoided it and hit him another five times, Logan quickly recognized the style in which she was using. Her fists were right in front of her and her elbows were in front of her, allowing for rapid strikes and quick counters.

Logan glowed blue with biotic energy but did not get a chance to use it as she charged again, landing another punch to his face before she followed it up with an elbow which was blocked by Logan who quickly grabbed her arm and spun her into the wall smacking her face into the mirror.

Crystal recovered quickly and drove her head backwards slamming the back of her head into Logan's face before she followed it up with another series of strikes; hitting Logan in his alcohol-filled stomach was a bad idea on Crystal's part and Logan's stomach contents exploded on Crystal, which gave him an opening.

"Disgusting" she complained as she looked down at herself and the vomit on chest before she recovered and threw another punch

Logan had underestimated her; he never liked fighting women but he knew that if he did not treat her as a threat than he would be dead. Logan avoided another punch, kneed her in the stomach before he grabbed her by the hair, and drove the back of her head into the wall, she recovered with another series of strikes, and blood filled Logan's mouth and dripped from his nose she then kicked him in the groin again.

Logan staggered backwards holding his groin, it was nothing but business until she did that, now he took it personally. Catching her leg as she threw another kick at him, dragging her backwards and out of the confined bathroom before he swung her by the leg and into the wall, before Logan went to snap her ankle but her other foot swung around and collected him in the side of the mouth.

Crystal stood back up with a smile on her face "I expected more from you" she mocked as she took out a knife and slashed at him.

Logan avoided the blade by millimetres and followed it up by grabbing her wrist and using that to control her body while his spare hand landed uppercuts to her chin, while Logan's head was an alcohol-fuelled mess, lucky for him, his body still remembered what to do. After landing four solid punches to her chin, he threw her across the room and charged up his biotics but before he could finish her off, the front door blew off its hinges.

Standing in the doorway was seven feet of heavily armed Krogan who smirked and said simply said "Pray" as he opened fire. Bullets ripped through the hotel room sending sparks and debris flying, Logan and Crystal dived for cover, the krogan kept firing before he stopped and threw a grenade towards where Logan was hiding.

Logan was behind the kitchen counter when he saw a grenade land beside him "Oh fuck" he said as he ran to new cover, the krogan followed Logan with his machine gun and would of scored a hit if Crystal had not chosen that moment to eliminate the competition.

Crystal opened fire on the Krogan from behind causing the krogan to turn and focus on her "He was mine Frog-boy," she said

The krogan snarled and took aim at Crystal and opened fire, while the two assassins fought over who was going to kill him, Logan took that chance to escape and ran out into the hallway and headed for the garage where he jumped into the first sky car he saw, purposely not taking his own car.

Crystal and the krogan made their way to the garage where they both tried to follow after Logan, The krogan came prepared and got into his own car while Crystal went to take Logan's rental sky car but when she started the engine the whole car exploded in a massive ball of fire.

Logan saw his car explode, as he drove away "I am never getting my security deposit back" he said to himself as the Krogan's car slammed into him, pushing him into oncoming traffic. "Shit" Logan screamed as he avoided a truck that blared its horns as it passed by.

The krogan kept coming not caring the damage he was causing, Logan was still on the wrong side of the road and was doing all he could to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic, after driving under another truck, The krogan fired a grenade at a billboard sending it falling into traffic causing multiple cars to crash.

Logan could not avoid the exploding billboard and ended up forced off the road and into a posh restaurant smashing though the windows. Logan kept his hand on the horn "MOVE!" he yelled as people ran to get out of the way, as his sky car exploded out of the other side of the restaurant and back into oncoming traffic. His hand holding down the horn as traffic swerved to avoid him; the krogan exploded out of the restaurant and narrowly avoided crashing into a tanker truck that slammed on its brakes, spun out of control and ended up on the wrong side of the road, causing multiple cars to crash into the tanker truck.

Logan saw in the rear view the large pile up behind him but at that moment was when the back window exploded inwards, his vision blurry from the three-day bender he was enjoying now making his escape harder. The Krogan's car slammed into the side of Logan's, the sound of crunching metal as the sky cars grinded against each other. The oncoming traffic now had a harder time getting out of the way, as the two cars took up two lines. The krogan took aim and fired his shotgun, the buckshot shattered the side windows, hit the engine causing it to spew black smoke and Logan also took a few fragments from the buckshot, causing blood to drip down his arms and make the steering wheel slick.

The krogan was about to fire again when Logan sideswiped the Krogan, pushing the krogan into the back of a car. The Krogan simply fired five shots into the back of the car he ran into, killing the driver and causing the car to move out of the way; as the krogan passed, he could see the driver slumped over the wheel and began plummeting to the ground. The krogan caught back up to Logan and continued to fire his shotgun, the buckshot tore into the sky car and the cabin of the sky car was now filling with black smoke.

Logan turned his head and saw the krogan coming alongside him yet again and taking aim, sideswiping the Krogan again before making a sudden turn into a multiple story parking lot. The krogan regained control of his car and spun his head around before he turned around and slowed down heading into the parking lot, as the krogan entered he could see Logan's car parked with one door open and a faint trail of blood leading away from the car.

"You should know human, I have your scent now, and I can follow you wherever you try and hide" The krogan said getting out of his car and grabbing his favourite shotgun, an assault rifle and a handful of grenades.

Logan had left his car and was leading the krogan to a spot where Logan could ambush him, wiping his hand on yet another car leaving a blood stain behind "come and get me, you son of a bitch" he whispered to himself.

The Krogan saw the blood trail and followed it however, it did occur to him that he was being lead into a trap but with the amount of credits on offer, he knew he had to chase the human anyway. Sniffing the air again, the Krogan could smell human blood and the smell of leftover food from the nearby restaurants in dumpsters, some of which was rotten. The krogan moved towards where the smell of human blood was the strongest and opening one dumpster, he saw his mistake when he could see Logan's bloodstained shirt but no sign of the body. It was at that moment, Logan stood up and lifting the lid on the dumpster opposite to the one the Krogan was looking in and quietly climbed out, charged a biotic throw and pushed the whole dumpster towards the krogan, which slammed into the back of the Krogan but did not kill him. So Logan used his biotics to pull the dumpster back again before driving it forward again, the sound of the dumpster grinding along the ground followed by the sound of metal slamming into flesh and a cry of pain.

Logan could see the Krogan was still moving, not well but he was still alive, so Logan kept using the dumpster as a weapon until the krogan went quiet. Walking over to the krogan while glowing with biotic energy, he nudged the alien with the toe of his boot when the krogan woke up enraged; Logan reacting on instinct punched the krogan in the face, the biotics adding to the impact of his punch driving the krogan's head back into the ground, cracking the pavement. Adrenaline and rage fuelled Logan's punches as he kept raining blows down upon the krogan's head, his biotics adding more force to each punch. Each time Logan drove his fist down more cracks appeared in the pavement and by the time Logan could not throw any more punches or even lift his arm the krogan's head was no more and in its place was a small impact crater.

Logan climbed off the dead krogan, walked two steps before throwing up again before standing back up, wiped his mouth and headed back to the krogan's car while picking rotten and stale food off his body. Hearing sirens in the distance, he knew he did not want to answer any questions. Besides, with the bounty on his head, he cannot trust anyone. Jogging to the krogan's car and taking a sawn off shotgun, it was the only that was small enough to be hidden under his clothes he also took a few grenades, once that was taken care of he began searching the krogan's personal computer to find any info he could.

The krogan's computer told Logan that the person, who had placed the bounty on his head, was on Omega, a space station filled with criminals, pirates, slavers, the rest of the scum of the galaxy, the whole station had no laws, the most violent of crime bosses were the only ones that were in charge of the station. Logan didn't care about that if that's where the contract had come from that's where he would be going, the only problem would be the idea of going to a lawless space station while a bounty on your head would be a death sentence and just asking for trouble.

Logan headed out of the parking lot on foot, calmly walking into a bathroom as the police drove past him. Once inside Logan saw the mess his face was in bruised and battered and his nose broken again, washing his face clean of blood before taking a deep breath and straightening his nose and take a few breaths in though his nose, a slight twitch of his nose told Logan it was fine again. Taking a drink of water, Logan then walked outside and started work on the next part of his plan.

**Arcturus Station/Arcturus system/Arcturus stream**

Admiral Hackett had his head in his hands as he was hearing the news of Bekenstein and the running gun battle involving Lieutenant Shepard and two professional killers, both now dead, although one assassin was caught in a car bomb meant for Logan.

"Who are the two hired guns?" Hackett asked

"The woman has no known aliases but is often referred to as the Black Widow due to the way she kills her targets, mostly men and sometimes even women, she lures them back to a quiet location before surprising them with a single gunshot to the head" One of the support staff said before finding more information "She often kills her targets while they are handcuffed to the bed or while having a shower, she does not sleep with her targets before killing them though despite her name"

"And a car bomb took her out?" Hackett asked "who set the bomb?"

One of the support staff clicked on her computer for a few moments "Not the krogan, the krogan goes by the name of Weyrloc Garim, wanted for the murder of over one hundred and fifty people, some of those were targets most were just people who got in his way" the support staff replied "he kills his targets by ambush and high-powered weaponry, he does not use bombs"

"And where was he found?" Hackett asked

"Car park roughly five blocks from Shepard's hotel room" the support staff told him before clicking away on the keyboard "and he was found half crushed under a dumpster and the head was gone"

"Gone?" Hackett asked

"Police think blunt force trauma is the reason for the body not having a head; they did find skull fragments near the scene, all evidence points to Logan surprising the krogan and half crushed the krogan with a dumpster before somehow destroying Garim's head without using a weapon of any sort" the support staff replied

Hackett thought for a moment "Biotics and his bare hands" Hackett said to himself somewhat impressed "any idea of where Shepard is now?"

"Negative, no word yet" The support staff replied

"Makes sense that contract is worth five million credits, in his shoes I wouldn't want to trust anyone either" Hackett said rubbing the bridge of his nose "bring him in, who knows how many gun toting psychopaths will be hunting him now"

One of the support staff stopped what she was doing and just stared at her screen "Sir I am getting chatter from Blue Suns mercenaries, they are looking for him and they are bring with them a small army"

Hackett swore, "Find him now and I want a team to take care of the Blue Suns and anyone else who tries to cash in that bounty"

**Bekenstein docks/** **Bekenstein/Window Nebula**

Shepard stole some dock workers work overalls and placed a work hat on and disappeared amongst the crowd of dock workers, he still would need to lower his head when he neared people but he could now move somewhat freely around the docks. Logan headed towards where the ships were coming in and that was when he saw them, Blue Suns, of course they would be here, watching the docks.

The Blue Suns were known for being well armed and were in force on Bekenstein, with members ranging from human, batarian, asari, turian and a few krogan all supplemented by armed mechs and security robots.

The Blue Suns were checking everyone it would be impossible to get past for anyone other than Blue Sun members which meant Logan had to get one of them alone and he had to make sure they were the same size as him, which would make it difficult, so watching from a distance he noticed two Blue Suns walking by themselves, one of them was wearing his size, moving closer and keeping his head down, he got closer to them and when he was directly behind them he punched what turned out to be a batarian in the face and when the batarian turned he threw a punch back at Logan in a knee jerk reaction, but before the punch could connect Logan used his asari friend as a shield who took a heavy handed punch from her friend before Logan tore the windpipe out of the asari and left her gurgling on her own purple blood, letting the asari fell to the ground as he punched the batarian in the throat before grabbing the Batarian and snapping his neck, killing him instantly.

Logan dragged the two bodies out of sight and once the bodies were well hidden, Logan took the batarian's armour off and put on himself, the eye holes for the helmet would not match up and if anyone got close enough they may notice but apart from that Logan now looked like a batarian. Once the disguise was on Logan he made his way towards a ship owned by the Blue Suns, walking past another batarian who nodded at Logan but ignored him after that.

Logan was nearing the ship when the headset in his helmet started sounding an alarm "Be aware Shepard maybe already here and wearing batarian Blue Sun armour" someone had said over the headset, Logan knew they had found the bodies so he quickened his pace "all batarian members please remove your helmets, any batarian still wearing a helmet will be shot"

Logan swore to himself and looked right at a turian who was staring at him "Remove your helmet" the turian ordered

"Sure, why not?" Logan said but instead of taking off the helmet he raised his shotgun and fired blowing the turian's head off, the Blue Suns hearing the gunshot and came running and began shooting at Logan as bullets whizzed past Logan's head, he grabbed the grenade belt of the turian and armed one of the grenades before throwing the whole belt towards a group of Blue Suns running towards him. The grenade belt exploded sending a fireball into the air along with any Blue Suns that were unlucky enough to caught in the blast, Logan now threw the ill-fitting helmet off his head and ran towards the ship and used his biotics to send another Blue Sun member off the landing platform causing him to fall two miles to the ground below.

**One block Away**

One Batarian was heading towards the docks after hearing about the explosion on the police scanner; he had lost the human when that idiot Krogan chased him off, at least the bomb meant for Logan took out one of his rivals and now it seemed as if the Blue Suns were on the verge of cashing in the bounty, not if he could help it.

**Bekenstein docks/Bekenstein/Window Nebula**

Blue Suns were now swarming the docks, as if Logan had kicked a hornet's nest and was now paying the price, lucky for Logan the docks were filled with plenty of cover and places for him to play cat and mouse with the Blue Suns. Running between cover Logan used his biotics to push Blue Suns off the docks, throwing grenades towards crates would often have unexpected results from explosions to chemical fires that would spread and setting traps using grenades , the Blue Suns were now at war and tried to gain control of the situation and even called in a gunship to stop him. Using whatever he could find to his advantage including using barrels of the highly flammable element zero which he had knocked over before lighting it and setting fire to over half of the docks and burning over thirty Blue Suns alive.

Logan leaning against a crate while Blue Suns slowly moved towards him keeping him pinned down for the most part, standing up every so often to use his biotics or to shoot at them, it was not until the gunship showed up Logan was forced to move to better cover, the gunship tracking him as he ran and fired a rocket which was off target but still exploded close enough to Logan his ears were ringing. Picking himself up off the ground and charging his biotics to throw a barrel of element zero at the gunship, hitting the windshield and smearing element zero all over the front of the gunship.

Logan shot another Blue Sun in the face and was aiming at another when a sky car landed behind the Blue Suns and out stepped a single batarian holding a rocket launcher and enough explosives to wipe out a small colony, the batarian took aim and fired three times the first rocket hit a Blue Sun member and exploded sending body parts and nearby Blue Suns flying, the next rocket exploded on the gunship causing a massive fireball and sending it plummeting to the ground and the last rocket headed towards Logan.

**Bekenstein docks/Bekenstein/Window Nebula**

Logan swore and only just managed to get his barriers up, however the force of the explosion threw him backwards at least nine feet and destroyed the guns he was carrying. As Logan tried to get back to his feet, he could see the batarian switch to his secondary weapon, a grenade launcher dropping the rocket launcher to the ground.

"I am going to enjoy this human," the Batarian said as he walked closer, "I had brothers and sisters on Torfan and now it's payback time"

"You had sisters on Torfan?" Logan asked as he stood up "no wonder you Batarians are so angry, your females are just as fucking ugly as you are" he mocked, his head spinning and feeling weak from lack of food, sleep, blood loss and the constant use of his biotics, as Logan moved to better cover.

"You…" the batarian snarled, his anger getting the best of him, keeping his distance, the Batarian had superior fire power "COME OUT AND FIGHT!" the Batarian screamed in rage as he fired another grenade towards Logan.

"Nice comeback" Logan said mocking him "and look you can shoot just as well" he said, it was a well-known fact that batarians were short tempered even more so than krogan were, batarians often let their tempers get the better of them and with the superiority complex they all seemed to have combined with the hatred they show towards humans, made angering him very easy for Logan.

Logan needed to get in close, easier said than done and to get in close Logan had to make sure that grenade launcher was useless, and Logan knew the closer you were to grenade launcher the less likely your opponent will fire otherwise they too will get caught in the blast. Backing up and into a warehouse, still feeling weak, despite the protesting his tired limbs did, Logan climbed upwards using crates and pipes along the walls heading towards the ceiling before waiting.

The Batarian snarled as he entered the warehouse and fired three shots blindly "STOP HIDING" he screamed as he searched room to room "I will burn these docks to ash if I have to" he said firing another grenade as it exploded he was attacked from behind, a sharp stabbing pain in his side as he turned he saw Logan armed with a blade which narrowly missed his face.

"Now this little baby brings back memories" Logan taunted as he kicked the grenade launcher from the batarians hands "You never know, it might have put a big smile on some of those brothers and sisters of yours" Logan mocked as he pressed his attack.

The batarian was well trained in hand to hand combat and blocked the next four knife attacks, taking out his own knife "I hope you have a plan B human" the batarian said as he punched Logan in the stomach before throwing him against a wall "plan A is not going to well" the assassin told Logan as he rushed at him with a knife.

Logan was exhausted making his biotics useless, so Logan kicked outwards landing a kick to the batarian's face before tackling him backwards and into element zero barrels spilling the flammable liquid over the both of them, Logan tried to stab the batarian but the blade was stopped by the batarian who began to use his superior strength to push and twist the blade back towards Logan's face, Logan responded by head butting the batarian before grabbing the back of the assassin's head and driving it backwards into an element zero barrel trying to crack the alien's skull.

The batarian managed to get one foot up to his chest and launched Logan off him, who hit the ground with a thud; standing back up the batarian only had enough time to move out of the way of another knife attack. Logan was relentless, not giving the batarian a chance to catch his breath. The main difference between a batarian and a human is simple; a Batarian has thicker bone and skin density and roughly twice the upper body strength of an average human, while a human has better endurance and can move a fraction faster, the result is somewhat an even fight.

The batarian grabbed Logan by the throat and tried to stab him in the face; Logan managed to grab the batarian's fingers and broke three fingers, causing the batarian to release him at that moment, Logan reached forward and armed one grenade on the batarian's grenade belt around his chest before kicking the batarian in the chest knocking him backwards.

The batarian recovered quickly, simply took the grenade belt off, and tossed towards Logan, who swore and dived out of the way but still not quite quick enough. The blast threw him to the ground and knocked the wind out of his lungs and he could not get back up to his feet.

The batarian slowly walked towards Logan "Looks like plan B was no good either" he said laughing as he took off his grenade belt so Logan couldn't try that same trick again "I can't really blame you for trying that trick, however you of all people should know how much training we batarian's get with explosives, you honestly thought I wouldn't of noticed a live grenade on me?" The batarian said as he reached Logan and had to kick Logan's knife away before grabbing Logan by the hair and lifting him up with his good hand and elbowed Logan a few more times before he wrapped his powerful arms around Logan's waist and squeezed.

Logan could feel the air being forced out from his lungs and felt a rib break under the pressure, looking into the eyes of the batarian who was smiling like it was the best day of his life.

"Any last words?" the batarian asked him smiling

"We never talked about plan C asshole" Logan replied weakly before he moved his head forward, opened his mouth and bit down on the batarian's throat. His mouth filling with foul tasting Batarian blood, as he hung on the Batarian reacted in shock and let go but it was too late and Logan pulled his head back quickly tearing the Batarian's throat out with his teeth.

The batarian staggered backwards holding the side of his throat as blood poured from the wound, Logan now seeing the fight was at an end, roared in a rage and tackled the batarian and wrapped his arms around the alien's neck and began to choke him while trying to snap his neck, whichever came first. After what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes the batarian finally stopped kicking, Logan held on for a bit longer before letting go and rolling the now dead batarian off him.

Logan slowly stood back up and spat the brownish batarian blood out of his mouth; his head was spinning and the fumes of element zero were giving him a contact high and making him a little giddy, he began searching the dead batarian for information and anything he could use. Finding water and a candy bar and after he had a drink and poured water over his head washing off some but not all of the element zero off, with the candy bar in his mouth he took off the batarian's Omni-tool

"Don't move" a voice from behind him said

Logan swore to himself as he turned around "Ok, whose next?"

Logan could see a group of Alliance marines standing there all with guns pointing at him; of course, he was wearing Blue Suns armour

"Shepard?" Anderson asked, moving closer gun still at the ready, before he turned to the rest of the marines to stand down

Logan narrowed his eyes and gripped his knife as if ready to throw it "Whose side are you on?" he asked, he had one lined up and could use them as a shield if need be. While Logan was too weak to be able to fight them off if, they did decide to cash in that bounty, he could take out a couple of them before they stopped him.

Anderson looked at Logan and could see that he had been through hell but still ready to fight, Anderson raised his hands "Yours, you don't trust us?"

Logan only laughed, "For the amount of credits I have on my head at the moment, no" before turning to another marine "don't move"

Anderson nodded before looking at the others "lower your weapons" he told them before turning back to Logan "That's fair enough, Hackett sent us" Anderson explained as he moved a bit closer "we got bogged down a few blocks away, dealing with the rest of the Blue Suns that were gunning for you"

Logan nodded as he stumbled backwards a little as he put his knife away "I need a vacation" he said "got any food?" he asked

Matthew Dinnie stepped forward "Sure man" he said throwing him a ration, as he did Matthew noticed the batarian blood coming from Logan's mouth "Didn't you just eat" he joked.

Logan tore open the ration and finished it quickly "Needed pepper" Logan replied

Matthew shook his head "Do what you gotta do I guess"

Commander Anderson watched, as a medic patched up Logan, who had many small wounds, no life threatening wounds, mostly small cuts and burns. As the medic finished up and Logan stood, back up Anderson asked him "Do we know where the contract came from?"

Logan nodded "Omega" he answered "that's where I was heading, before the Suns found me, this outfit did nothing then"

Commander Anderson raised his eyebrows "Omega? Shepard, the Alliance is not allowed there," Anderson said "and to be honest you going there while the bounty is on your head is suicide"

Logan nodded "Well it is unless you're already dead" he said with a smirk, before he turned to Matthew "the contract did state anyone can cash it in as long as they bring proof, I will be your proof" Logan said chuckling

Anderson rubbed his chin "The Alliance will never allow it"

Logan laughed out loud "Omega is a space station that is open to anyone, no military has jurisdiction on Omega," Logan told him still smiling "of course soldiers can travel there on their own time, but run the risk of being killed by pirates or slavers, nothing wrong with a.." Logan held his hands up and made finger quotes as he added "former soldier of the Alliance who has just killed his commanding officer, the Alliance can deny the action if it goes south and Matthew and I would be on our own"

Matthew raised an eyebrow "You want me to come with you?"

Logan nodded "Yeah, I mean I could do it on my own but it is more difficult and it would be far easier with you, of course it is dangerous so if you don't want to I understand"

Matthew shook his head "No I'll do it as long as the Alliance gives the ok"

Anderson sighed, "I get the feeling you're going to Omega regardless of what I say"

Logan smiled "You are starting to understand me sir"

**Omega Docks/Omega Space Station/Sahrabarik System**

Matthew looked over at Logan "I can't believe the Alliance is allowing this"

Logan smiled "Well even Hackett saw the benefit of us doing this" he told Matthew before lying down on the ground "now remember I'm dead" he said clearing his throat "oh and don't kill the main guy, that asshole is mine the rest are yours"

Matthew chuckled at that "yeah and if this goes wrong, so will I" he said as he guided the small unmarked ship that was taken from the Batarian assassin into port and waiting for the clamps to lock the ship down.

Matthew stood up once the ship stopped moving; the stretcher Logan was lying on started to float after Matthew allowing Matthew to use his hands, once outside the ship, there was a batarian waiting for them "Are you Matthew Dinnie?" the batarian asked.

Matthew answered straightaway "Yes, now where is my money" he snapped

The batarian looked down at Logan "So that's him? Doesn't look so bad"

Matthew sighed "Yeah? Well what would you know? He killed three other assassins and a platoon of Blue Suns before I took him down" he said as he looked around, "he never saw me coming"

The Batarian nodded "Follow me" as he turned around and started walking "so why turn on your friend?"

Matthew shook his head "He was no friend of mine, he got a lot of friends of mine killed"

The Batarian nodded "Well that's one thing we have in common" he said smiling slightly

Matthew rolled his eyes "We have nothing in common and never will I was a soldier not a fucking pirate"

The Batarian frowned "I was never a pirate; I was a business man nothing more"

Matthew looked at the batarian "So a slaver then?" Matthew shook his head "and you think that makes you better than a pirate? It does not, the truth is your nothing more than a parasite and even being this close to you makes me sick, so the less you could talk the better it will be for me, the mere fact I am breathing the same air as you is offensive so shut your fucking mouth, I'm not here for friends"

The batarian did not say another word instead lead Matthew and Logan's body to a warehouse "there is Gorloch with your money, take your reward and leave" he snapped slightly.

The batarian known as Gorloch walked closer to Logan to have a look at him "You cannot believe how much money you have cost me" he said as nudged his foot against Logan.

Matthew looked around and counted the slavers in the room and could see there was element zero here as well as other crates and other chemicals "That is close enough, now pay me" he said still looking around making sure this was not a trap.

Gorloch smiled as he walked closer to Matthew "You were on Torfan weren't you?" he asked taking a puff of his cigarette

Matthew nodded "Yeah I was, I lost a lot of close friends because of him" he lied, Matthew noticed that the other slavers were moving closer to him

Gorloch nodded "Well be that as it may, I can't in good conscience pay you, you understand" he said before he turned to the rest of the slavers "kill him"

At the point Logan sat up and shot one slaver though the face before charging up his biotics and launching four other slavers into the air, Matthew pulled out his pistol in the space of a heartbeat and before the next heartbeat he had shot two others though the head, Moving forward Matthew fired three more times and each time the shots found a skull to call home.

Logan was now standing up and threw Gorloch against a wall, as Gorloch hit the wall, Logan shot another slaver who tried to help, the slavers were no match after a few minutes the only one left alive was Gorloch who looked shocked that Logan had set him up and was now begging for his life.

"Please don't shoot me" Gorloch begged "I'll give you the bounty and call the hit off" he said as he tried to stand up "come on something for something"

Logan kicked him in the face "Stay down" he said before looking at Matthew "I'll split it with you" he said as he looked down at the smiling Gorloch and put his gun away.

Gorloch was started to beg for his life again when Logan poured element zero over him, he only stopped begging when Logan set him on fire.

Matthew watched "Was that necessary?" he asked

Logan shrugged "I kept my word, I didn't shoot him" he said as he turned to Matthew "got any marshmallows?" he joked

Matthew chuckled and shook his head "Harsh, but can't say he never deserved it"

Logan nodded "Besides this will be an important lesson for anyone else on this hellhole not to put contracts on me or anyone else" he said still watching Gorloch burn alive. "Let's get out of here," Logan said as he checked his pistol "now comes the fun part, getting off the station" Logan told him "we shoot anyone who tries to stop us" Logan said to a nodding Matthew as the warehouse doors opened and standing there was there Batarian who led Matthew to the warehouse.

"Hey wait a minute…your meant to be dead!" the batarian managed to say to Logan.

"I got better," Logan said and calmly shot the batarian in the face, turning his brains into a fine brownish mist "move it!" he ordered Matthew who was right behind him.

Matthew and Logan moved quickly through the streets heading towards the docks as pirates and slavers flooded the streets trying to stop the two Alliance soldiers and avenge their leader who had only just stopped screaming.

Logan used his biotics to rip a shotgun from the hands of a pirate, who swore and tried to dive for cover but was not fast enough as Logan used his own weapon against him. Matthew on the hand was shooting the grenades attached to the belts and even in the hands of the pirates themselves causing explosions after every shot. Logan and Matthew had turned two blocks of Omega into a warzone, using overwhelming force and speed the pirates could not respond fast enough; the amount of damage they were coursing made many pirates reluctant to join in.

**Afterlife Nightclub, Omega Space Station, Sahrabarik System**

Aria T'Loak sat in her booth as she was receiving reports on the two soldiers fighting their way off the station; she knew why they had come here, the bounty on the one known as Logan Shepard. Of course, she did not expect him to show up himself and based on what she had discovered about the human, she knew he would bring the whole station down around him if he could not escape; just two of them had turned two blocks into a warzone, the fighting was not dying down in fact it was intensifying.

"Let them go" she ordered one of her guards "and I want the idiot that placed a contract in the first place taken care of," she said snarling in rage "they bought this here"

One of her men steeped forward "Gorloch has been killed" he said keeping a somewhat safe distance from the short tempered Asari "the ones fighting now are his men, trying to avenge their loss I'm guessing"

Aria sighed and looked up at the batarian "You're not paid to fucking guess Bray so tell them to stand down or they will answer to me, Gorloch bought this mess here and now he has paid for it"

Bray nodded and left without another word.

**Omega Docks/Omega Space Station/Sahrabarik System**

Logan watched in surprise as the pirates and slavers retreated but based on the look of the faces they did not want to be going anywhere, however Logan didn't waste time and hurried to the ship "C'mon I think the head honcho wants us gone" he said to Matthew.

Matthew frowned as he shot a wounded pirate on the ground "Why though?"

Logan shrugged his shoulders as he opened the ships doors "Who cares, let's just go before they change their mind"

Logan got the ship started as Matthew watched the pirates just in case they did change their minds. Once the ship was a safe distance from Omega Matthew said "So two and a half million credits a lot of money" he said with a smile "do you think the Alliance will want to take it off us?"

Logan nodded "Yep, that's why we never got the credits and since they are untraceable and the only way they will know is if one of us tells them" Logan told him smiling as he took a drink "invest it or put it someplace safe, think of it as a retirement fund" he told him.

Once they got back to Alliance space they were debriefed and as Logan said the Alliance never found out about the credits, Matthew promoted and reassigned to another squad. As Logan also promoted and reassigned sent on other missions were everything from transporting criminals to hunting down terrorists and even training a new squad that earned the nickname the Wrecking Crew. As they trained to get behind enemy lines before unleashing overwhelming biotic attacks, breaking up enemy forces and causing chaos allowing for front line soldiers to push forward, forcing the enemy to front on two fronts.

Logan also had one tour of duty on-board a turian ship as part of an exchange program that had been interesting to say the least. However, Logan performed very well and could have been the reason why Logan's next mission would be being in charge of a ground team on a new type of frigate, some type of recon ship that was co-developed by the Turian Hierarchy and the Human Systems Alliance. They had named the ship after a well-known battle in human history, The Normandy.

The first day Logan walked onto the ship, he felt at home right away, he could see a number of marines as well as navigators and engineers getting around. He had found out that Commander Anderson, now Captain Anderson had handpicked everyone on the ship that made him feel proud that Captain Anderson handpicked him to lead any ground teams for this ship.

"What now sir?" Logan asked Anderson when he caught up to him

Anderson smiled "let's see what's out there Commander".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys I'd love to hear what you thought of Shepard's time before the events of the first game as the next chapter will start getting onto familiar ground. I will show most scenes from the game but not all conversations or missions will be covered but I will mention the missions but due to the size of the games I cannot cover every single mission or even remember every conversation that happens so it will help if you have played the game as I will assume all of you have played the games as much as I have but in any case I hope you enjoy it, as always feedback is welcome.


	11. Nothing is ever simple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys as promised here is the start of the first game. Eden Prime. Oh and feedback is welcome c'mon don't be shy what do you like about it and what do you hate about it?

**Arcturus Station/** **Arcturus System/Arcturus Stream.**

"What about Commander William Hawke?" Ambassador Donnel Udina asked as he continued to read.

Captain Anderson thought for a moment "Born on the Mindoir colony, outstanding service record and the sole reason Elysium is still standing"

Admiral Hackett shook his head "He is also a racist with ties to Terra Firma who makes no effort to hide his hatred of anything non-human"

Captain Anderson was also a part of the meeting via a vid screen, they had been discussing possible names for a Spectre position and so far every name had problems along with it.

"Commander Nikita Taylor? Military family, no history of bigotry, good service record as well as outstanding scores in diplomacy" said Ambassador Donnel Udina.

Admiral Hackett shook his head "She was on Akuze and witnessed her whole platoon killed and to honest that's her claim to fame, not dying when everyone else did"

Captain Anderson flicked over the file quickly "She is a survivor"

"She has more than her share of scars," Admiral Hackett said while looking over the names.

Captain Anderson spoke up at that point "Name me one soldier who doesn't?" he asked

Admiral Hackett looked at Anderson "Most soldiers don't wake up screaming from nightmares and are still receiving counseling"

"Well what about, Commander Logan Shepard?" Ambassador Udina asked "Earthborn but no record of his family..."

"Doesn't have one, he survived on the streets using his wits" Captain Anderson replied.

"He got most of unit killed on Torfan" Admiral Hackett replied "he is also has a drinking problem, although never on duty thankfully and he is known to use extreme force in subduing enemies"

"He gets the job done no matter the cost" Captain Anderson replied.

Ambassador Udina thought for a moment "Is that the type of person we want protecting the galaxy?"

Captain Anderson nodded "That's the only type of person who can protect the galaxy"

Ambassador Udina nodded "I'll make the call".

Admiral Hackett turned to Captain Anderson and smirked "You knew we were going to choose him didn't you?"

Captain Anderson shook his head "I have no idea what you are talking about sir" he answered while smirking slightly, letting the Admiral know as far as the Captain was concerned this meeting was a formality and nothing more.

Admiral Hackett rose an eyebrow "Right and already having the Commander on board was just luck was it?"

Captain Anderson smirked and shrugged "Considering the other two, yeah I thought he was the best choice and besides the other two don't have a Spectre that put their name forward like Shepard does"

Admiral Hackett shook his head "Well I hope your trust in him is not misplaced"

**Utopia, Exodus cluster, two days from Eden Prime**

Logan had introduced himself to the crew and since this was his first time being the X.O on a ship he made sure he knew everyone, some were tolerable more so than others. Corporal Richard Jenkins while he was a nice enough guy, he did tend to be a little overbearing but he was eager and more than willing to follow Logan into hell if ordered to, of course Logan could not tell if it was out of respect or fear. Jenkins did let slip the nickname Logan had earned on Torfan 'The Butcher of Torfan' while he was talking to Logan's second in command Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, unaware Logan could hear them, something Kaidan quickly pulled him up on.

"Don't let the Commander hear you call him that" Kaidan warned the young soldier "he lost a lot of people on Torfan, some of them friends" he told the Corporal

"Of course sir" Jenkins said nodding clearly showing his age "I meant no disrespect it's just that Commander Shepard is well famous for what he can do in battle, I just want to show him what I can do"

Kaidan rubbed the bridge of his nose from another migraine before answering, "He is more infamous than famous," he told him while he opened his footlocker.

Jenkins frowned as he searched his own footlocker "What do you mean sir?"

Kaidan sighed "The Commander has always done things his own way, and many of those ways could be seen as….going too far and in a few cases he has paid for it" Kaidan explained "for example he can no longer drink at every bar and sleep with every random woman at every port he is at, as much as he once did at least, an assassin used that information against him to get closer to him and the Commander was almost killed because of it, another example is his actions on Torfan have made him a target for protesters and even the occasional homicide attempt, he gets his name dragged through the mud on news programs and he is a popular debate topic for the diplomatic students" Kaidan finished and stood up and looked at the young Corporal.

Jenkins turned to look at Kaidan and asked "You don't like him sir?"

Kaidan shook his head "No I do and I respect the hell out of him; however I am under no illusions on who he is, and I do not let my respect for him to blind me at the end of the day he is just a man doing a job. Nothing more"

Logan smiled; he now knew why Captain Anderson put Kaidan on his team, it was clear Kaidan was placed on this team as Logan could almost imagine Anderson thinking that Kaidan would maybe have a calming effect on him, Kaidan being the Yin to Logan's Yang so to speak.

Kaidan looked at the Corporal "Just do your job as well as I know you can and Commander Shepard will take notice" he told him before noticing Logan walking into the room

"Well boys, I trust your done gossiping" he said with a slight smile letting them know he had heard them "Captain Anderson tells me we are making a pick up before we go for a shakedown run" he said before looking at Corporal Jenkins "Our guest will be a turian Spectre so I expect both you to be professional"

Logan could not help but notice the reactions on the faces of the two of them, A Spectre, well known as the Council enforcers and officially, they answered to no one but the Council and could do whatever they wanted. To some people it would be intimidating or even unnerving to be around a government agent who was essentially above the law but to Logan he didn't care, he would treat a Spectre the same as anyone else, and if this Spectre gave him a reason to kill him he would and would worry about the outcome later.

"Before you ask, no I do not know why a Spectre is coming aboard, so don't bother asking" Logan told them before assigning Jenkins to a job. "Jenkins I want you to keep the Mako fully prepped and ready to go" Logan told him and when Jenkins didn't move at first Logan raised an eyebrow "now Corporal"

"Alenko I trust you already have been given a task to do by the Captain?" Logan asked while he checked his own footlocker

"Yes sir" Kaidan replied saluting

Logan smiled "Relax, I'm not that type of Commanding officer that I want you salute me every time, just go get it done" he told him before leaving him for his duties.

Three days later the Spectre was on board carrying enough weaponry to take on an army, the turian introduced himself as Nihlus Kryik and even offered his hand for the humans on board to shake, something not many turians thought of to do, as shaking hands was a human custom. After a short talk with the Captain, Nihlus walked around the ship inspecting it something some of the older members of the crew did not like, leftover hatred from the First Contact War. Logan knew the Spectre was watching him and always seemed to be around him, although he did not know why, although he did notice Nihlus already in the mess hall when Logan went for some food yet another thing Logan noticed, the turian only seemed to eat when Logan was, almost as if he did not want to let Logan out of his sight.

Putting it out of his mind, Logan told both Jenkins and Alenko to meet him in the cargo bay for some hand to hand training. Since Torfan and seeing Jamie getting hacked apart with mining tools showed Logan the importance of all soldiers being capable of close quarters combat, Logan had spent even more time training martial arts, not just focusing on Jiu-Jitsu but on martial arts that focused on strikes, kicks even more so, the events on Korlus still fresh in his mind.

"Ok, I want to see what you know if you have no weapons at all" he told them judging their reactions "and I'll show you a few new tricks" he said looking at Alenko "no biotics" Kaidan's face screwed up in confusion "biotics are limited in they need to time before you can use another one, I cannot tell you how many times knowing that has saved my life" he told him before looking back at Jenkins "Ok Corporal let's see what you can do, attack me"

Jenkins eager to prove himself rushed Logan in a flurry of punches which Logan ducked and tripped the Corporal up "Never rush in unless you have the advantage first" he told him at the same time he noticed the Spectre watching them.

Jenkins got back up to his feet and this time took a more careful approach, he threw a right cross which missed but to his credit followed it with a spinning left elbow which Logan stepped up behind him before it could connect and shoved him to in the back "Nice move, however do not turn your back on your opponent unless you have them off balance first" he said looking over at the Spectre before ignoring him "Alenko, your turn"

Kaidan stepped forward and fell into a stance that looked like a kickboxing stance and kicked outwards with a right front kick and he followed it with a left straight which Logan ducked and stepped into clinch range and gripped Kaidan around the back of the neck and tripped him to the ground so he was standing over the top of him "You have had training before haven't you?" he asked as he helped him back up to his feet.

"Yes sir I have" Kaidan said as he dusted himself off "although I think I will have to get more now" he said with a laugh "where did I go wrong though sir?" he wanted to know

Logan smiled "Well I get you guys down here as often as I can" he said cracking his neck "you were telegraphing your attacks, but you have good speed and you plan your attacks which is good" he said before turning to Jenkins "as for you Corporal slow down and think of your next move"

They both nodded and thanked him before he dismissed them he had noticed the Spectre still standing there watching him "Enjoy the show?" he asked

Nihlus smiled that strange turian smile and nodded "I had not seen much of Human martial arts and never from someone with as much training as you"

Logan thought about that for a moment "Maybe you will have to show me how turians fight sometime"

Nihlus chuckled "Maybe" as he watched Logan leave

After a shower and a quick bite to eat, Logan headed towards the bridge where Kaidan and the helmsman Jeff Moreau better known as 'Joker' were talking about the Turian Spectre who had walked past Logan as Logan made his way onto the bridge.

"You don't send a Spectre on a shakedown run" Logan had said to them before the Captain called into the briefing room and after Joker had warned the Captain Nihlus was heading towards him.

"He is already here Lieutenant" the Captain told him with a slight anger in his voice.

"Great you piss the Captain off and I have to deal with him" Logan groaned.

"Don't blame me, the Captain is always in a bad mood" Joker replied.

"Only when talking to you Joker" Kaidan replied as Logan left the room and made his way to the briefing room.

After a short talk with Navigator Pressly over why a Spectre would be on board as well as a respected Officer like Captain Anderson on a 'do nothing mission' and telling him he would find out about it and let him know, he kept walking and saw a familiar face, Dr Chakwas who was talking to Corporal Jenkins about what the Spectre was doing on board and of course the Corporal almost jumping out of his skin over the chance of some 'action' as he put it, flashbacks of another marine eager for action came flooding back to Logan and the results of what happened to him when he got his wish.

"You need to calm down Corporal, only a fool goes looking for trouble" Logan warned him.

"Easy for you to say Commander, you proved what you can do during the Blitz, I just want to show the Captain what I can do" Jenkins explained before the subject got changed back to Spectres and why there was not any human Spectres.

"Hey Commander, you would make a good Spectre, ruthless efficiency, getting the job done not matter the cost like on Torfan" The Corporal said with Dr Chakwas staring at the Corporal as if she could not believe he just said that.

"I didn't enjoy Torfan, I just did what I had to do" Logan reminded him with a stern look.

"Of course Commander, I meant no disrespect" the Corporal explained before looking down at his feet.

Logan shook his head slightly and passed Dr Chakwas a look, which could only be described as  _kids huh?_  and made his way past them. Walking into the briefing room he saw that Nihlus was already there, the Captain was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah Commander, I was hoping we would have a chance to talk before the Captain got here" Nihlus explained.

Logan narrowed his eyes "About what?" thinking he was finally going to find out why he was really here.

"Eden Prime is quite beautiful isn't it? Do you know much about it?" he asked.

"I'm a marine not some tourist on some vacation, the only thing I know is that the Corporal is from there" Logan replied somewhat short, it seemed like the Spectre was dancing around what he wanted to ask.

"But it is more than a tourist location isn't it, Eden Prime is a symbol amongst your people, a sign that not only can Humanity maintain its colonies but also keep them safe but how safe is it really?" Nihlus said somewhat cryptically.

Logan had enough of this "Do you know something?' he asked and walked closer.

'The Universe is a dark and dangerous place, is Humanity really ready for it? " he asked simply and before he could say much more Captain Anderson walked in.

"Good Commander you are here" he said nodding to Logan as Nihlus turned to Logan.

"This is far more than shakedown run" Nihlus said simply and waiting for Logan's reaction.

"I already worked that out" Logan said looking right at Captain Anderson.

"Nihlus is here to evaluate you" The Captain told him as he looked back at Nihlus.

"That would explain why I saw him a kept running into him" Logan stated before he had to know "Evaluate me for what?" Logan asked narrowing his eyes at Nihlus.

"I read your reports from Torfan, a grim business but you got the job done, as well as your escape from capture on Korlus breaking both your arms and of course you killing three of most wanted assassin's in the galaxy in one night as well as a platoon of Blue Suns. It is for those reasons I put your name forward as Spectre candidate" Nihlus told him still studying him for a reaction.

"Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?" Logan asked.

"Not all turians despise Humanity, some of us see the potential of your species and what you could offer not just to the galaxy but to the Spectres" Nihlus explained

Logan nodded and took the news at signs of a promotion "Looks like you will be showing me how turians fight sooner than I thought" Logan joked

That bought a slight chuckle from Nihlus "This will be the first of many missions together" he said looking at Captain Anderson.

Captain Anderson cleared his throat "A prothean beacon has been found at Eden Prime, the Alliance is working with the Council..."

Before being interrupted by Logan "I get it, we share the beacon and in return we get a try out for the Spectres?"

Nihlus looked at the Captain, who smiled and shook his head "Not quite Commander the Council has more experts in this field and we have been trying to get on the Spectres for years now" the Captain answered and looked at Nihlus "as I said he speaks his mind" he said quietly to Nihlus before he cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something more before being interrupted by incoming reports from Eden Prime.

"Put it on screen" The Captain said.

Logan could see a lot of panic on the screen before a disturbing silence that fell over the marines that were fighting on the ground, at that moment the camera panned around and showed a very large ship not matching anything known from any known species coming down to land, the reactions of both the Captain and Nihlus said they didn't know what it was either.

"A small team can move quickly, it is our best chance to reach the beacon" Nihlus said still staring at the screen.

Logan walked out of the room while a short time later his head swimming with this information, he was being evaluated as a Spectre, the prothean  beacon being found on Eden Prime, to say that a working beacon would be valuable is a massive understatement but worth starting a war over? Maybe, Logan had to admit he didn't know much about the protheans or their technology and he really was not a tech it was one of the areas he struggled with hacking was a nightmare to him one of the main reasons why he was a Vanguard and not a Sentinel, of course Eden Prime now under attack, whoever was behind the attack is clearly heading for the beacon.

A short time later Logan was standing in the Loading bay in his armour, a quick rundown on his objectives and finding out the Nihlus was going to scout out ahead. For some reason the Captain seemed to be nervous and repeated more than once about working with Nihlus "We have his back Captain" Logan said looking to started on this mission.

The ground crunched under Logan feet once they touched down on the surface "Right Jenkins I want you switch to your assault rifle, and Alenko stick with your pistol" Logan told them before remembering "now Jenkins I know this is your home but I need you to focus"

Moving forward Logan could smell smoke and after Nihlus telling him that there was a lot of bodies and no survivors, taking careful movements Shepard noticed that Jenkins getting a little far ahead, as soon as Logan noticed it, it was too late, a drone came around from behind a tree and opened fire, the first couple of rounds missed however the Corporal inexperienced stayed where he was in the open and fired back, the drone quickly adjusted its aim and it's next rounds tore though Jenkins chest dropping him to the ground.

Kaidan to his credit kept his cool and dropped the drone's shields before he moved onto a second drone that appeared with shots and quickly dropping it while Logan's shotgun made short work of the first drone.

"Tore right though his shields, never stood a chance" Kaidan said after closing Jenkins eye's

"We will make sure he gets a proper burial once the mission is complete, but we still have a job to do" Logan told him.

Logan walked away from Jenkins body, yet another marine under his command that is now dead; however Logan couldn't dwell on those thoughts for long, as he could hear a gun fight just over the next hill. Kaidan reached the top of the hill a moment after Logan and saw a single marine running from three hostile's what looked like robots.

"Let's say hello" Logan told him as he ran down the hill throwing one of the robots a good nine feet before pulling another in closer with his biotics and dropping that one with a close range shotgun blast, While Kaidan and the unknown marine finished off the remaining one.

"Are you the one in charge here sir?" The marine asked, it was that moment Logan had noticed the marine was a woman, a rather attractive one too, dark skin and dark eyes, quite a combination Logan thought as he answered.

"Yeah I am what's going on here Gunnery Chief...?" Logan asked.

The Gunnery Chief cleared her throat "William's sir, Ashley Williams"

Logan nodded and looked around "so where is the rest of your squad?"

Ashley started pacing "We were on patrol when the attack happened, we were ambushed...I don't think they made it... I think I'm all that's left" she said looking at him.

Logan nodded before he cracked his neck "you did all you could, and you stayed alive until reinforcements arrived that counts for something"

Ashley smiled a little at that "Thank you sir"

Kaidan stepped forward "Any idea what they are?" he asked.

Ashley frowned before shrugging "I think they are geth"

Kaidan frowned "The geth haven't left the Veil in three hundred years"

Ashley nodded "I know but maybe the Prothean beacon drew them here?" she suggested.

Logan nodded think that all this was pointless as they didn't know enough yet "Do you know where the beacon is?"

Ashley nodded "Yes sir it should be right over that next ridge"

Logan nodded "Lead the way Williams we need to secure that beacon"

Ashley nodded "Time for some payback"

Logan glanced at Kaidan "Wonder where Nihlus is?"

Kaidan shrugged "Who knows? Why is he here for anyway?"

Logan glanced back "Oh I had forgotten to tell you, he is here to evaluate me for the Spectres" he told them

Williams raised her eyebrows "That's a big deal sir"

Logan shrugged "Yeah I guess it is" he said

Logan moved forward and headed over the ridge keeping his squad in tight, as they neared the top they could see two geth troopers holding a injured man over a device, the man was still moving and aware of his surroundings when **_THWACK!_ ** A large metal spike shot out of the device and though the man's mid-section and suspended him a good fifteen feet in the air and kept him there, while other spikes lowered bringing with them, what looked like human's but modified, you could see the cybernetics sticking though the skin as well as their skeleton, they also had glowing eyes and were now running towards the three of them.

"What did the geth do to them?" Ashley asked.

Logan moved forward and fired his shotgun tearing one of them in half before launching another one with biotics while Ashley and Kaidan finished off the remaining one.

"Techno zombies? Now I have seen everything" Logan said more to himself than anyone before looking around "Check for survivors in that building there" he said pointing as he checked the one next to it.

"Commander, door was locked from the inside, it's open now" Kaidan said as he stepped back allowing Logan to have a look.

Inside there were two people a man and a woman, the woman was holding up her hands while the man looked too out of it to know where he was.

"Don't shoot" the woman said "we ran in here to hide"

"There is no hiding from them; this is the end, the harbingers of our extinction" the man said looking around nervously

Logan glanced at the man "Who are you?"

The woman pointed to her chest "I'm Dr Warren and this is my assistant Manuel" she said pointing at the strange man

Logan nodded "You seen a turian around here?" he asked the woman while still looking at the man

"No I didn't, too busy" she replied

"I saw him, the prophet of the end, the speaker for the old ones, the vanguards of our destruction" the man said still looking around.

Logan looked at the man before asking something else "What can you tell me about the attack?"

The woman shook her head "Not much I'm sorry, we did hear a loud noise though so loud it sounded like it was coming from inside your head"

The man spoke up again "I heard it too, the siren of their arrival, the beginning of the end, nothing can stop them, gods of our destruction"

Logan looked at the woman before nodding his head towards the man "What's his problem?"

"Oh Manuel has always been...well unstable" the woman said.

Logan nodded "Time to go to sleep" Logan said as the man walked closer to him.

"You can't just silence the truth, the end is co..." he managed to say before Logan's fist slammed into his jaw knocking him out.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? You can't just go around hitting people" the woman yelled at him.

"That might have been a little extreme Commander" Kaidan said raising a eyebrow.

Logan held up his hand "Relax, it was only a matter of time before he did something crazy or stupid to someone else or himself"

The woman rubbed her hand across her forehead "I suppose you're right, at least now when he wakes up his medication might have kicked in by then"

Logan nodded before turning to Ashley and Kaidan "Let's go" he said.

Once outside Ashley pointed to her right and said "The beacon should be just be just over that hill"

Logan nodded and readied his shotgun and began moving forward, more geth drones appeared followed by a small squad of geth troopers. Ashley opened fire on the troopers after dropping one of the drones; Kaidan backed her up by dropping the shields of the troopers, while taking out the remaining drones, leaving the troopers open for Logan's biotics and shotgun blasts.

Logan knocked a trooper to the ground with a biotic throw before he blew its head off with his shotgun "Where is the beacon?" he asked looking at where it was meant to be

Ashley frowned "It was here..., they must have moved it"

Kaidan looked at Ashley "Our side or theirs?"

Ashley just shrugged "Either way they would have moved it to the spaceport whoever it was"

Logan sighed "So much for a nice easy mission" he said to himself "ok let's move" he told the others and moved forward "Ashley, lead the way"

Ashley nodded and started to head up the nearby hill when Nihlus spoke again

"Change of plans Shepard, meet me at the Spaceport I'll wait for you there" Nihlus said

Shepard neared the top of the hill and a short moment after he had replied "Copy that" a single shot rang out. Logan did not know why but he had a bad feeling and looked over at Ashley "Any good as a sniper Williams?" he asked

Ashley smiled "Top of my class Sir"

Logan nodded "Good, switch up and keep your eyes open" he told her as he reached the top of the hill, once there he could see a large number of geth troopers and more of those zombie like husk things running towards them but by far the most disturbing thing was the massive ship that was taking off in the distance, complete with a very loud buzzing type sound. "Williams stay up here and target the troopers, Alenko keep on my six" he ordered and opened fire with his shotgun ripping one of the Husks in half before he threw another two with his biotics, Kaidan helped make short work of them, while Ashley sniped the geth with an almost scary accuracy. Once all hostiles where taken care of, Logan began to have a look around, starting with a building back near the top of the hill.

"You can come out now" Logan called out to the people he knew where inside.

"Don't shoot we are unarmed" One man says.

"Is it safe?" a woman to the right of him asked.

Logan nodded "Safe for now yes" he answered "who are you?"

The man speaks up "The name is Cole, we are just farmers"

Logan looks at Cole "What can you tell me about the attack?"

Cole shook his head "Not much sorry, we were at work when the attack happened, that's when we saw it, a massive ship, I didn't think ships that big could land on a planet but it didn't seem to have any trouble and as it was coming in, there was a loud buzzing sound almost as if it was coming from inside your head"

Logan nodded "Yeah we just saw it, so how did you escape?"

Cole scratched the back of his neck before answering "Well we were nearby to begin with and once we heard the attack I knew we would be safe here so we ran here" he explained

Logan nodded before looking behind him "Well stay out of sight for the time being, the geth shouldn't be back but don't take chances" he said and turned to leave.

"Hey Cole maybe we should give them the stuff, they will need it more than we will" the woman to Cole's right said out loud, loud enough for Logan to hear it.

Cole snapped a look at her "Be quiet you…" he said before he saw Logan had turned back around to stare at him "if there is something you're not telling me" He warned.

"Ok look, a guy I know at the docks he gives me some of the Alliance goods coming in and in return i store them here" Cole told him

Ashley glared at Cole "You son of a bitch, we are out here protecting you and you're stealing from us?"

Cole looked at her "Sorry, but we never thought you would need it, I mean we are farmers that's all"

Ashley rolled her eyes and just shook her head

Logan shook his head "You slimy fuck, you didn't run here to be safe, you ran here to check on your stash" he said angrily

Cole shook his hands in front of him "No honest, we came here because we knew there was some weapons here we could use"

Logan raised a eyebrow "Got anything for us?" he asked holding out a hand

Cole rubbed the back of his neck "Yeah, here" he said handing over a pistol

Logan took the pistol and checked its sights "Not bad" he said more to himself

Ashley stepped forward then and asked "Who is your contact in the spaceport?

Cole looked nervous and shuffled his feet a little "He's not a bad guy. I don't want to get him in trouble. Besides, I'm not a snitch"

Logan sighed and pointed the same pistol Cole just gave him at the farmers head "Would you rather be a snitch or a corpse?" Logan asked sounding almost bored

"Powell, his name is Powell" Cole said rather quickly holding his hands up.

"So much for honour amongst thieves" Ashley mocked while shaking her head.

Logan shook his head and turned away from Cole and the others, looking around he could see the docks to the right and on the left he could see more of those spikes "Do you think synthetics understand terror tactics?"

Ashley looked over at Logan with a puzzled look on her face "Do you think that's why they do it sir?" she asked sounding if she didn't want to know the answer.

Logan motioned for Kaidan to take point up the stairs before looking back at Ashley "Maybe, I mean humans did things like this once upon a time, maybe they learn from organics?" he answered as he looked upwards hoping that ship he saw didn't come back.

Ashley walked up the steps behind the two men "I don't know if the Quarians were the impaling type though" she said before shrugging her shoulders "but then again I could be wrong"

Logan reached the top of the stairs "The geth would most likely study other races too; I mean humans studied the other races after the turians made first contact with us" he said as he could see a dead body lying there "shit, please tell me that's not who I think it is?" Logan asked Kaidan who had a disgusted look on his face as he rolled the dead alien over onto its back.

"Commander, it's Nihlus" Kaidan said looking down at the dead Spectre; he sounded as if he was going to say something else when they heard a noise behind the pallet of boxes and containers.

"Come on out, we know you are there" Commander Shepard said levelling his gun towards the noise

"Don't shoot, I'm unarmed" a man said as he slowly stood up "I'm just a dock worker, I managed to hide here, I guess the Geth didn't see me" he said looking nervous

Logan lowered his gun before asking "What's your name?"

The man still looked nervous "Powell, my name is Powell"

Logan raised an eyebrow "Powell your Cole's contact here on the docks huh?" Logan asked

Powell blinked a few times "No…I mean yeah, but what does that matter now?"

Logan smiled "anything good back there?" he asked

Powell looked relived a little "Um…yeah here" he said handing over a few grenades

Logan looked at the grenades before glancing back up at Powell "Think very carefully before you lie to me, is there anything else back there?" he asked with a dangerous tone in his voice.

Powell rubbed the back of his neck nervously "Well yeah…I mean there is this?" he said handing over some kind of prototype technology.

Logan smiled as he put the items away shooting a glance over at Williams to keep her quiet, not that he blamed her for being upset but they needed to focus on the mission.

"So what do you remember about the attack?" Kaidan asked.

"Not much, I was working here, when I heard that loud noise that…" Powell was saying before Logan cut him off again.

"Sounded like it was coming from inside your head?" Logan asked

Powell blinked and nodded "yeah, I guess it was lucky they never spotted me, I can't think of what would of happened"

Ashley frowned "wait a minute? If you were working at the time, how did you get here in time? And how did you know the Geth wouldn't look there?" Ashley asked glancing at Logan.

Powell rubbed the back of his neck again "well…um…that's the thing, I was already here when the attack happened"

Logan frowned this time, something was not adding up "you were already here? Why?" he asked thinking he already knew the answer.

Powell avoided making eye contact "Well I sometimes sneak back here to take a nap during shifts"

Ashley shook her head "You're kidding me? You survived because you're lazy?" she almost yelled at the dock worker.

Logan shook his head "Well if you hadn't gone for that nap, you might be up on those spikes with everyone else" he said.

Powell looked down at his feet "Yeah…I'd rather not think about it"

Logan nodded "You're alive take comfort in that" he said before asking "Do you know where they might of moved the beacon?"

Powell nodded "Yeah, the geth took it" he said scratching his chin as he tried to remember "They were with someone, a turian" Powell said looking down at Nihlus "your friend seemed to know him, called him….Saren, your friend dropped his guard and that's when the other one shot him, right in the back" Powell said finishing his story "After that they took the cargo train, you should be able to catch them if you hurry"

Logan nodded "The Alliance will need to get your statement, stay here and out of sight" he warned before he turned back to Ashley and Kaidan "we need to move now" he ordered as he thought to himself _Too bad, Nihlus I was starting to like you_. Shaking his head and clearing his thoughts, Logan directed the team onto the cargo train.

Once on board, Logan got the train moving and turned to talk to Kaidan and Ashley "Ok, here is the deal" he told them "This mission got a lot more complicated, The geth are trying to steal the beacon, we have a dead Spectre and another turian getting around, when this train stops they will throw everything they have at us, we push forward no matter what" Logan told them who only nodded in response.

The train came to a stop and even before it did they were under fire, "William's snipe them, Kaidan keep them busy, I'll…" Logan was saying before he saw something that made his blood run cold, a thermo nuclear weapon and it was armed.

"Shit, I'll disarm, you two keep those metal bastards off me" Logan ordered as a bullet zipped past his head and got to work, disarming bombs was never a strong suit of Logan's like hacking, he would rather let Kaidan do it but Logan didn't know how good Kaidan was at disarming nukes, bombs were one thing but disarming a nuke tended to make people nervous and for good reason.

"Got it" Logan said as he disarmed it "they will have more, we need to find them" he told them as he fired his pistol at one Geth, blowing its head off.

Ashley was not lying about her skill with a sniper rifle, one shot tore though a Geth's neck leaving the head hanging on by only wires and as quickly as she could move from one target to the next she dropped another four more.

Kaidan was up ahead and was dropping the Geth shields for Ashley to take them out, as well as every now and then launching a geth off the side "Found another one sir" Kaidan called out as he fired two more shots into a Geth's head.

As Logan was moving forward he ordered Ashley to switch back to her Assault rifle, and once Logan and Ashley had caught up to Kaidan, Logan went to work on disarming another nuke.

The Geth were getting more and more desperate and seemingly did not use tactics anymore, instead they now just did suicidal runs towards them.

Kaidan got knocked to the ground and retaliated with a biotic throw, launching the Geth over the side of the railing, Ashley stood beside him, covering him while he stood back up.

Logan breathed out finally when the nuke was disarmed "Two down" he yelled out just as bullet zipped past his head "push forward" he called out as the three of them moved up the walkway, shooting anything that moved.

The final two nukes were at the far end of the walkway; Logan disarmed them while Ashley and Kaidan kept the geth off him. The final nuke was hidden behind a pillar and Logan almost missed it but once that was disarmed the only thing left to do was to secure the beacon.

Logan began to head down a nearby ramp and almost right away bullets zipped past him three of them hitting his shields "Stay on me" he told the others as he blew one of those husk things away followed by a biotic throw that sent three geth flying backwards where Ashley quickly finished them off.

Kaidan dropped another geth but missed the larger geth trooper running towards Logan, who was knocked to the ground and from his back Logan aimed upwards with his shotgun at the geth and opened fire at point blank range and the geth still moved forward to point it's weapon down at Logan when Ashley unloaded half a dozen rounds into its chest.

Logan looked up at the geth as it fell over backwards before he looked up at Ashley "Thanks Chief" he said as he stood up and looked at the beacon which looked like it was glowing or something "Normandy, we have the beacon, awaiting pick up" he said into his radio turning his back on Ashley and Kaidan.

"Copy that, ETA five minutes" Joker replied.

Logan breathed out a sigh of relief before he turned around and saw Ashley with a dazed look in her eyes walking closer to the beacon, without thinking Logan rushed forward, grabbing Ashley around the waist and hurled her backwards only now he was caught in the field and now was immobilized, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move and that's when he felt his feet lift up off the ground.

Suspended in mid-air, unable to move and then Logan saw it. The end. He saw machines killing people in large scale numbers, he couldn't tell what the machines were but he could tell they were killing people on many different worlds. Logan could not make sense out of the vision but he did know one thing, The end of everything was coming and soon.


	12. Welcome to the Citadel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan arrives at the Citadel for the first time.

**Utopia/Exodus cluster/Eden Prime**

Kaidan watched as Commander Shepard was lifted off the ground and less then two minutes later dropped to the ground limp as the beacon exploded bright flash of light, carefully approaching the Commander's body once he was sure it was safe he quickly moved to check on Shepard. A quick check over told Kaidan that the Commander was unconscious, what Kaidan found strange though was the fact the Commander's eyes were closed but rapidly twitching "We need to get him out of here" Kaidan said to Ashley who looked worried "I'll organize a pick up, but we will have to carry him" he said.

Ashley nodded and put her gun away "I'll carry him, it's my fault he got hit and not me" Ashley said as she bent down to pick up the Commander's body.

Kaidan shook his head "You had no way of knowing what security systems it had in place and take it from me that was unexpected" he said looking at her as she lifted the Commander's body up and over her shoulder, the advances in gene therapy had made every soldier capable of lifting the dead weight of any other soldier while Shepard was slightly larger then Kaidan, Ashley had no trouble lifting the dead weight of the Commander and his equipment. "Normandy we need a pick up, have a medical team standing by, the Commander was hit by some security system on the beacon".

"Copy that" Joker replied

Ashley shook her head and answered Kaidan after he got off the radio "We are trained to be expect the unexpected, I should have been more careful

Kaidan sighed as he started to walk towards the extraction point "We are trained to expect it yes but not what do next, you did nothing wrong" he said stopping to look at her.

Ashley sighed "Well I still feel like it's my fault so I will carry him, let me do this sir" she asked

Kaidan paused for a moment; he could see it meant a lot to her to care for a wounded marine, maybe something to do with watching the rest of her squad get wiped out "Fine".

**Normandy Medical Bay**

Captain Anderson was waiting to meet them as they got back to the Normandy "What happened?" he asked Kaidan

"The Commander got too close to the beacon and then he started to lift up off the ground and was hovering there for two minutes before he fell to the ground and has not moved since" Kaidan told the Captain as Chakwas walked over

Captain Anderson frowned "What about the beacon?" he asked before looking around "Where is Jenkins?" he asked even though he suspected he knew the answer

"The beacon exploded after it did whatever it did to the Commander and Jenkins is dead sir, geth drone" Kaidan answered looking down at his feet "he never saw it coming"

Anderson frowned before asking "Geth? What the hell were they doing there?"

Kaidan sighed and ran his hand though his hair "They were after the beacon"

Doctor Chakwas focused on Logan and ignored the Marines talking near her, continuing on her patient she opened his eyes to check for eye movement what she saw was Logan's eyes twitching and darting back and forth but he was out cold "Lieutenant is it possible it was not a security system?" she asked at which point Kaidan frowned

"I guess, but what else could it be?" Kaidan said shrugging his shoulders

Chakwas continued her scan and nodded more to herself than anything "Well I am not a technician or a marine but if it was a weapon or security system of some sort why is he still alive?" she asked while looking at Kaidan who seemed to realize what she was getting at

Kaidan frowned "maybe it was damaged and didn't have the power to finish him off; I mean it did lift him off his feet" Kaidan said looking at Shepard "but we just don't know what it was"

Captain Anderson nodded before looking at Ashley "What's your name soldier?" he asked while glancing over at Logan and Chakwas

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams sir" she answered saluting the Captain

Kaidan looked at Ashley before looking back at the Captain "Her squad was wiped out, we would not have made it to the beacon with out her"

Captain Anderson studied Ashley for a moment before looking at Kaidan who responded with "She is a good soldier and would be an asset to the crew"

Captain Anderson nodded before looking at Williams again "Welcome aboard Chief"

Ashley smiled "Thank you sir"

Anderson smiled back before he turned back to Kaidan "Now what about Nihlus?"

Kaidan looked down "He is dead sir, shot in the back of the head, execution style, he never saw it coming" he replied "A dock worker saw the incident and said that a second Turian called Saren had shot him"

Anderson felt the blood drain away from his face along with a cold chill up his spine "Saren? Are you sure?" he asked

Kaidan nodded "yes why do you know the name sir?"

Anderson nodded "Saren Arterius, a turian Spectre" he answered

Ashley frowned and spoke up at that point "A Spectre? But would that make this Saren a…"

Anderson looked at her and finished her sentence for her "A traitor to the Council and to the Hierarchy"

Ashley looked at Commander Shepard "Is he going to be okay?"

Chakwas smiled "Yes of course, no major damage, his eyes are twitching like that because he may be experiencing an intense dream".

Anderson looked at Ashley and Kaidan "Now I need to send a report to the Council and the Alliance, so from the start, what happened?"

 **Citadel, Lower wards** , **C-Sec Academy**

Garrus Vakarian was sitting his desk filing paper work when his office door opened and Executor Pallin walked in.

"Agent Vakarian, The Human Systems Alliance is accusing Saren Arterius of attacking a human colony and the Council wants C-Sec to investigate if the claims are true" Pallin said sounding as if he didn't believe the charges and without even saying a greeting to Garrus, which Garrus was used to

"You think the humans are lying?" Garrus asked

Pallin had a disgusted look on his face "I would not put it past them however a charge of treason is serious and may spark a war if not handled properly"

Garrus nodded "I understand sir; I will get started on it right away having said that, I will need clearance to investigate"

Pallin flicked his mandibles before answering "What for?" he asked as if it was the strangest question he had been asked.

Garrus sighed, already knowing this case would be difficult to investigate but he didn't expect it so soon "I need to look into Saren's files and Nihlus files as well and everything we have on….Commander Logan Shepard" Garrus had to look up that name as humans had such strange names and this one was no different

Pallin clicked his mandibles again "I'll see what I can do" he answered

Garrus sighed "Well I can't investigate a Spectre without excess to his files and as you said sir treason is a serious offence and if there is any chance that Saren is dirty then it will be hard to prove"

Pallin seemed to know that it would be almost impossible to investigate "You have one week"

Garrus stood up suddenly "One week to investigate a Spectre? That is nowhere near enough time, I need…"

Pallin cut him off "One week is all you get, the humans are on the way here now"

Garrus waited until Pallin had left the room before swearing and throwing his coffee cup against the wall.

 **Citadel/Lower wards/** **Docks**

Urdnot Wrex stepped off his ship and looked around, cracking his neck while wondering how long it would take C-Sec to drag him in, he headed towards the elevator and headed down. His Omni-tool glowed as he looked over the details of his target; A human club owner by the name of Fist, guarded by krogan and turian bodyguards and to make things even more difficult, any gun battles would quickly have a large C-Sec response, meaning he will have to be quick.

Smiling to himself as he saw three C-Sec officers walking towards him "Let me guess you're the welcoming committee?" he asked chuckling

One of the C-Sec officers spoke up at that point, a turian, "Urdnot Wrex, I assume you're going to behave yourself while here?"

Urdnot Wrex laughed "Of course, I am just a tourist" he said readjusting his weapons on his back.

The C-Sec officer shook his head "You really expect me to believe that?"

Wrex chuckled to himself "I don't really care what you believe, now get out of my way, unless you're going to arrest me for…what exactly?" he asked, he knew they wouldn't do anything to him unless he broke the law and he hasn't done that yet.

The C-Sec officer flicked his mandibles in annoyance "We will be keeping an eye on you"

Wrex shoved past them as he said "Good, you do that" not even turning around.

**Normandy/Serpent Nebula/Widow**

Logan still lying on his back with his eyes closed, unconscious but despite that his mind was racing. He could make out some details of the dream he was having, the main thing he kept noticing was death, so much of it, every image came with the feeling of untold dead and a sense of urgency, the images also were being replayed as if it was on a loop.

Groaning he sat up, his head was pounding, he could hear Ashley calling for the doctor "He's awake" he could hear and he almost told her to keep her voice down.

Logan opened his eyes and blinked against the light, turning his head he could see Chakwas standing there.

"Commander, how are you feeling?" Chakwas asked

Logan rubbed his eyes "Like the morning after shore leave, what happened?" he asked looking at the concern on the face of the two of them.

Chakwas looked at her notes "The beacon activated and did something to you, you were bought back here"

Logan rubbed his nose "Thanks for that" he said looking at Ashley before asking "So what happened with the beacon?"

Ashley stepped forward "It exploded after it did…whatever it did to you; I'm sorry sir I should never have gotten that close, I…"

Logan held up a hand "You had no way of knowing what would happen" he said to which Ashley smiled before he turned back to look at Dr Chakwas "Any damage?" he asked

Chakwas shook her head "No, you did experience rabid eye movement, indicting you were experiencing vivid dreams"

Logan rubbed his eyes "more like a nightmare"

Chakwas made another note "Hmm, well the Captain will want to…Oh Captain you're here"

Captain Anderson nodded "How is our X.O doing Doctor?"

Chakwas looked at her notes and answered while Logan was only barely listening, once they had finished talking about him as if he wasn't even there Dr Chakwas left leaving him alone with Captain Anderson.

"What the hell happened down there Commander?" the Captain asked

Logan sighed and looked up "Intel dropped the ball sir, we had no idea what we were walking into down there" he said angry about the loss of Jenkins.

Anderson paced back and forth "The geth haven't been outside of the veil in three hundred years, We had no way of knowing they would be there, I'm sorry about Jenkins Commander, he was a good soldier, but from the reports it could not of been helped" Anderson said after stopping to look at Logan "the Turian mentioned though is the real problem"

Logan frowned before asking "Saren? You know him?"

Anderson locked eyes with Logan "Personally" he said simply before pacing again "Saren is a Council Spectre and he hates humans, a rogue Spectre is trouble, he may have attacked Eden Prime to get to the beacon"

Logan swore and slammed his hand against the bed "Which is now destroyed"

Anderson nodded "What did you see?" he asked and when he noticed Logan's confused look on his face he added "It may have been a message"

Logan sighed "Warning, not a message" he said and noticed Captain Anderson frowning "I saw machines, geth maybe killing people, butchering people"

Anderson thought on that for a moment "We need to tell the Council, they may know something"

Logan chuckled at that "The Council? Since when have they ever done anything to help us? Besides tell them what? I had a bad dream?" he asked

Anderson looked at Logan "The beacon is destroyed and the Spectre that was to evaluate you for a Spectre position is dead and on top of that we are accusing one of top Spectre's in Council space of treason, they will want answers for this and they may be looking to place the blame at your feet" he said now looking Logan in the eyes as he stood up off the bed.

"The Council can kiss my ass, I never did anything wrong" Logan said raising his voice

Anderson raised his hands "I know Commander, which is why we need to expose Saren as a traitor, even the Council doesn't believe what you saw they will do something about Saren"

Logan shook his head "No, we need to kill him" he said though gritted teeth

Anderson smiled slightly to himself; He knew Logan would hunt Saren down regardless of what the Council decided to do "First things first, we expose him then we kill him"

Logan smiled "I like the sound of that"

**Citadel, Presidium**

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya had left the Migrant Fleet just over two months ago, since then she had been to a few different worlds including one in the Armstrong Nebula where she had found a geth patrol unit, she had made short work of the three of them and worked quickly to salvage the memory unit, she needed to know why the geth where so far outside of their system and so close to human systems.

Tali had just managed to get an audio recording from the geth's memory core, Tali of course knew that, geth do not travel alone and if any geth were in the area which is very likely, they would investigate, so Tali quickly made it back to her ship.

That was over two weeks ago, since then she had strangers looking for her, it didn't take a genius to work out they didn't want anyone to know what was on that recording and after Tali had listened to it she knew why, she had to see C-Sec.

Tali could not believe this, she had evidence that C-Sec needed to see and yet no would even talk to her, let alone look at what she had she had been kept waiting for over two hours before finally a C-Sec agent saw her and almost right away yelled at her for wasting his time, called her a suit-rat and ordered her out of his office or else, Tali didn't know what the else was but didn't hang around to find out.

What Tali did not know was that an asari that was sitting in C-Sec offices was an acolyte of Matriarch Benezia and had orders to silence anyone who may try and warn the Council and once the asari Commando heard Tali try and get the C-Sec officer attention, thankful that it was a quarian and not a turian or salarian, otherwise the C-Sec officer might of believed her, she had to kill her quietly before anyone noticed.

Walking around on the Presidium she felt a little safer, she doubted anyone would try and kill her here but she also knew she couldn't stay here, what she needed was protection and if C-Sec wouldn't help her she will find someone who will.

A thought occurred to her that maybe the Shadow Broker, a very powerful information dealer, no one knew who the Shadow Broker was but Tali knew they could protect her and would be very interested in the information she has, she just had to find out how to contact the broker, while she was thinking that over she scratched her elbow not thinking about it and a second later her suit's alarm's started flashing across the screen in her helmet **_'SUIT RUPTURE'_**.

Tali panicked but before she could do anything another message flashed across her screen **_'RADITATION EXPOSURE'_**   Tali was now very scared and feeling sick, she worked as fast as she could to repair the damage while she made her way to the Medical Centre, just as she reached the doors she felt light headed and passed out.

**Normandy/Serpent Nebula/Widow**

Logan had a shower and went to eat in the mess hall, when Ashley walked over; looking nervous before she could say anything Logan pushed a chair opposite him out so she could sit down "Thanks, Everyone has been so welcoming" she said while gently tapping her fingers on the table "It means a lot when a team as talented as this welcomes you like this"

Logan smiled and nodded "Well you're a good soldier, you deserve it" he told while he put some more chicken on his fork

"I heard what happened with Jenkins, I'm sorry Commander" Ashley said suddenly

Logan swallowed the food he had and took a drink before answering "When your number comes up that's it, his did" Logan said somewhat cold, the truth was he found it easier to avoid getting close to people, easier to clean the blood off your hands afterwards, he did care about keeping his people alive however he came to terms with the fact that soldiers die and they die often.

"That's grim Commander, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised though" she said with her arms crossed "I read the reports from Torfan, I can't imagine what it was like, shooting slavers as they tried to surrender and burying them alive" she said sounding slightly disturbed.

Logan looked up from his food and looked Ashley in the eyes, a cold chill went up her spine when Logan answered with "Every time you kill it gets a little easier" the cold detached look in his eyes told her he meant it, killing was just another part of his job and nothing more.

"No offence sir, I'm glad you're on our side" she said shaking her head as Logan stood up and took his plate to the sink "Well it was good to talk to you sir, I better get back to my duties"

Logan watched her leave; he was not sure what to make of Ashley yet, but from first impressions of her, told him that she was loyal, tough and eager to prove herself and it also told Logan she had survivor's guilt from what happened on Eden Prime with her unit. Logan sighed and finished his food and after a quick toilet stop he made his way to the bridge.

"Ah Commander, just in time, I was approaching the Citadel see those tax dollars at work" Joker said as he stepped onto the bridge.

Logan looked out the window at all the passing ships and spotted the Destiny Ascension Dreadnaught, an asari ship of unmatched firepower and armor, Logan ignored the chatter between Ashley and Joker and smiled; all those years on Earth fighting for food and killing for scraps and finally he was here at the Citadel, to say he was looking forward to it would be a understatement.

 **Citadel/Lower wards/** **C-Sec Academy**

Garrus was sorting though the details that he had gathered, he was still missing details but so far he had worked out that Commander Logan Shepard was a man from the slums of Earth, before joining the Alliance he was a member of a street gang on Earth called the Tenth Street Reds. A group that has since been spotted off Earth. Garrus also got footage of Torfan from Shepard's own helmet cam; Garrus also watched security footage of Logan at the Last Chance Bar on Bekenstein where Logan put three men in the trauma unit and later that night fought off a bounty being on his head. Garrus was slightly impressed, the human let nothing stand in his way and was seen as the one guy the Alliance would send if they wanted a job done, no matter the cost. To say the Commander was not to be taken lightly would be a understatement.

Garrus quickly knew what type of man the Commander was; a career soldier known for hunting down the enemies of the Alliance and if he accused Saren of treason then he would have good reason to think so, So Garrus had a closer look at Saren's accounts, well the ones that were known anyway when Garrus noticed that Saren had invested a large amount of money in a number of research companies on Noveria.

What Garrus could not found out is what Saren had done with over a million in credits, Saren had removed it from his account and placed it into a company that turned out to be a fake and that's where the trail went cold, over one million credits, gone without a trace and even though Saren is a Spectre that sort of money would not of been easy to get, So the question was why would someone like Saren clear out what looked like life savings into something that could not be traced?

Standing up and pacing for a moment, he was still pacing when another turian officer entered, one of the guys from patrol Garrus noticed "Agent Vakarian sir?" he asked waiting at the door

Garrus barely looked up "What is it?" he asked still thinking about Saren

"I was told to tell you that a krogan bounty hunter by the name of Urdnot Wrex has been seen on the Citadel, no word on who his target is yet" the younger turian said

Garrus frowned before racing back to his computer "Thank you, keep an eye on Wrex I want to know who he is targeting" Garrus said before dismissing him and focusing on this krogan bounty hunter and found out Wrex was a Battlemaster, that rare combination of a krogan with biotic ability and this one was old too, which told Garrus this bounty hunter could be a problem, Garrus needed to hit the streets see if any of his informants know anything before the humans get here.

 

 **Citadel/Lower wards/** **Docks**

Urdnot Wrex finished his meal and looked around, just as he had thought, C-Sec had gotten bored with watching him do nothing, standing up and a few taps on his Omni-tool and began to head towards his target a human by the name of Fist, Wrex had a feeling things were going to get interesting, the thought was confirmed when he had overheard that a human commander had arrived and was going to see the Council accusing a Spectre of treason, something that did not come up often and try as they might the Council could not keep the news totally quiet. Smiling to himself Wrex wondered if this human commander was a friend or a foe.

**Citadel/C-Sec/Docking bay**

Logan stepped off the Normandy and cracked his neck and took a deep breath in "Now let's get this over with" he said more to himself than anyone

Once he reached the elevator, the doors opened and he stepped inside as he looked around the elevator he sighed to himself "This day keeps getting worse though doesn't it?" he asked as he looked around "The Spectre who was evaluating me was killed, a human colony was almost blown up, a prothean beacon was destroyed and now here I am on my way to see how the Council is going to handle me telling them that their golden boy is a traitor and I'm stuck in a elevator with two marine's on a high protein diet" he said chuckling to himself, Kaidan and Ashley both laughed at that, the elevator stopped and the doors opened and they made their way to Donnel Udina's office before they were to meet the Council.

**Citadel/Presidium/Council Chambers**

Garrus had run out of time, but there was a very promising lead he had not been able to investigate yet, he only needed just one maybe two hours more but it looked as if Saren would get away with what he has done.

"I need more time, stall them" Garrus pleaded

Executor Pallin laughed out loud at that "Stall the Council?" he asked before shaking his head "Your investigation is over Garrus"

Garrus sighed and turned around just in time to see three humans walking closer, he knew the one the middle was Commander Shepard

"I'm sorry Commander, but whatever Saren is doing, I couldn't find anything" Garrus explained after he introduced himself.

Logan nodded "So you failed?" he asked sounding a lot more pissed off than he intended

Garrus shifted slightly "As a Spectre almost all of his actions are classified, but I know he is dirty, as you humans say I can feel it in my gut" he explained before nodding "good luck commander maybe they will listen to you"

Logan sighed and walked away towards the Council chambers, once at the top of the stairs he saw Captain Anderson.

"Come on the council is waiting" he simply said and walked into the chambers.

Just as he thought the meeting was a waste of time, Saren easily deflected any suggestion he had anything to do with it and with nothing to back it up, the Council would never believe them. Logan however spent the whole time staring at Saren and even threatened to kill him in front of the Council, they didn't like that and the meeting quickly concluded.

"I knew bringing in there was a mistake Captain, you and Saren have a past and they will use that against us" Udina said to all of them once they were back outside "what we need to do is find something solid to back up our claims"

Captain Anderson nodded looking disappointed but understanding of what was happening now "You're right, I will have to sit this one out"

Logan didn't like the sound of this, but kept his thoughts to himself "So what's next?"

Udina rubbed his chin and thought about it for a moment "Well there is the turian Investigator; he may have a lead we can use"

Logan raised his eyebrows "He is a turian, can we trust him?"

Udina nodded his head "Not all turians are like Saren, Commander"

Logan rolled his eyes "Not what I meant, they are not old army buddies or something are they? I mean Saren does have a lot of friends on the Citadel after all"

Captain Anderson smiled "No, not this one, I have heard about him but of course to find him you would have to ask Harkin and he is a waste of time, The information brokers might have something as well" he explained.

Logan took it all in as Udina and Captain continued to talk about Saren, Captain Anderson seemed eager to stress about a monster Saren is, Logan knew that he needed more information "Ill let you know what I can find"

**Citadel/Lower wards/Chora's Den**

Wrex walked into Chora's Den and smiled as he saw a young krogan walk towards him, Wrex almost laughed, this whelp would be barely passed the Rite, but Wrex said nothing as the young Krogan threatened and made sure Wrex knew he was not getting in, but Wrex is a patient Krogan and knew that he could just stand here until the young krogan did something foolish like try and fight him inside the club. However the young krogan was smarter than given credit for and made a point to say out loud that Fist will not see him, which was clearly a code phase as Wrex noticed a human bartender reach for a weapon as well as two asari dancers to the left of him glow a slight blue ready to attack. Wrex smiled of course there was asari Commando's in here, humans always seemed to hire asari and vice versa which Wrex knew that likely meant there was more then just those two in here.

"Tell Fist he will have to face me sooner or later" Wrex warned before turning around and ran into three human soldiers armed to the teeth, clearly here on business which made the whole thing even more interesting, "Out of my way humans, I have no quarrel with you" he said as he passed them.

"What was that about?" Ashley asked looking over her shoulder at the retreating Krogan.

"Who cares, lets just find Harkin and get out of here" Logan said before looking around and saw him in the corner "there" he said and walked over towards him, standing in front of him Logan stared at the man as if he had just stepped in something "I'm looking for a turian Investigator named Garrus Vakarian, I was told you could help me find him"

Harkin wiped his mouth on his work shirt and sat up and answered after he downed his drink "Oh really? Yeah I know where he is, still trying to prove Saren is guilty, looks like Anderson finally got someone to help him" Harkin laughed to himself before adding "not that it will help of course" Harkin leaned out of his chair so he could stare at a dancers ass as she walked past before turning back to Logan "Tell me did the captain tell you his little secret?"

Logan sighed and sounding bored as he said "Just tell me what I want to know and I won't kneecap you" as he stared into Harkin's eyes letting him know that it was not a bluff

"Fine" Harkin said "He was going to see that med-clinic near the markets you know the one? Or do I have to draw you a map?" he said before calling over a dancer "Ask Anderson about why he wasn't made Spectre" he said raising his eyebrows smugly.

Logan shook his head "C'mon lets go" he told the others and turned his back on Harkin he walked out of Chora's Den he ignored Harkin once he had the information he wanted.

"I never heard Anderson was to be a Spectre" Kaidan said once they were outside

"I never have either, wonder why he never mentioned it." Ashley asked out loud.

Logan shrugged "Maybe that's why the Council wouldn't listen to us" he suggested "anyway lets go say hello to a turian" he chuckled to himself before looking at the other two "maybe he can smell Saren's bullshit too" Logan said.

Kaidan chuckled "Maybe on both points"

"So that turian is still after Saren, good to know" Logan said once they were sitting inside heading towards the med-clinic, having no idea what they would walk into.

**Citadel/Upper wards/Med-Clinic**

Garrus had just managed to avoid being spotted by the armed thugs that were in the process of making sure the doctor didn't tell him anything, well this is the best lead he had to find out where that quarian he had heard had gotten to.

A handful of thugs were talking to the doctor Garrus was moving into position when the door opened and in walked the human commander and in the next few seconds, one of the thugs had hostage.

"Who are you?" the thug yelled out to the Commander before Garrus stood up from his cover and fired one shot landing direct hit to the thug's eye.

Logan quickly his biotics to pull one of the thugs towards him before almost cutting him in half with his shotgun, Ashley put six rounds into the chest of another while Kaidan threw the remaining one.

Logan turned to Garrus "Nice shot"

Garrus nodded "Sometimes you get lucky" he said before he turned to see if the doctor was ok.

Logan looked at the men they had just killed "whatever you know you should tell us, they will kill you to keep you quiet" he warned

Dr Michel nodded "They wanted to me be quiet about a quarian who had been shot, she said she had information for the Council but was being hunted and wanted to trade the information for protection"

Garrus looked very happy at that news "She must have proof Saren is a traitor, we have him now"

Logan corrected him "We don't have anything yet, anything else?" he asked looking at Garrus

Garrus nodded "Well I know that Fist has a bounty on his head at the moment, he was one of Saren's contacts on the citadel and Saren betrayed the Shadow Broker, so now Shadow broker is cleaning house" Garrus told him while looking at his Omni-tool "A Urdnot Wrex is hunting him"

Logan raised an eyebrow "A krogan?"

Garrus corrected him "A krogan battlemaster" he said

Logan nodded before turning to Dr Michel "Do you have somewhere safe to be?" he asked

She nodded "Yes, thank you"

Garrus knew that now was the time to ask "I know this your investigation now but I want to join you"

Logan looked at Garrus and thought this turian reminded him of one those short-lived honest cops that were on earth, the idea that a traitor could get away with whatever they were doing would drive someone like Garrus up the wall "Saren is a turian, why would you want to bring down one of your own?" Logan asked testing him.

Garrus had spent some time around humans, enough time that he knew the reason why the Commander was asking him a question like that, Saren could set human-turian relations back at least twenty years and the chance that humans would not forgive the turians again. Garrus knew that humans needed to be shown that Saren is a rogue element.

"Saren is a traitor and a disgrace to not only the Council but also to my people" Garrus said surprised himself how angry he got he expected the Commander to reject him but instead got a sly smile that told Garrus that he just confirmed something to the human.

"Welcome aboard, Garrus" Logan said offering his hand

Garrus looked down at the Commander's hand, he had seen humans do this of course, and shook his hand "Thank you, I won't let you down"

Logan nodded before turning to Ashley "Williams, return to the Normandy tell them we have a turian guest coming on board" he told her before he added "Oh and we may have a injured quarian as well" he said before turning away, not noticing Williams frown seemingly not liking the fact of being sent back.

Logan looked at the other two "Maybe we should see Fist before this krogan blows his head off" he told them as he raced out of the clinic with them behind him, he needed to get to that club before the krogan did.

"Where is the krogan now do you know?" he asked Garrus who nodded.

"C-Sec, was bought in for questioning, but they won't be able to keep him there for long" Garrus answered.

"Shit!" Logan swore as urged the car to go faster and once it stopped Logan got out and walked towards the club.

"THERE HE IS, KILL HIM" A voice from the other side of the walkways.

"Saren's men, they must be here to stop you from talking to Fist" Garrus explained as he took out his rifle and opened fire.

Kaidan just threw four men into the wall behind them, where a shotgun blast was waiting for them from Logan

"Clubs all closed up, that means no civilians, cut loose" Logan ordered.

Kaidan shot another before answering "That means they are waiting for us"

Garrus moved forward, following the two humans into the club and as soon the two was open, the club exploded with gunfire, the two humans launched biotics in all directions; Garrus had not expected the other human to be a biotic as well and while Garrus was not used to fighting alongside biotics, he was smart enough to take advantage of the chaos the two humans left in their wake.

Logan had sent an asari flying off the bar, before shooting one in the face and throwing a grenade behind her sending another four flying into the air, the mercenaries inside the club were not prepared for a straight assault like this, outgunned and overmatched, the people Fist had employed to protect him fell within minutes.

Logan sighed and cracked his neck "Let's go say hello to Fist" he said as the door opened and standing there were two terrified workers both holding a gun

Logan looked at the two men with raised eyebrows "I just killed fifty bodyguards getting here, what you think I will do to you?"

The two men looked at Logan before looking back at each other "Fuck that, Fist isn't paying us to take on commandos" they said before leaving

Garrus blinked, he didn't think something like that would work, Shepard said the threat so casually it almost sounded like a joke, almost but not quite.

"I never would of thought of that" Garrus said honestly

"Shooting people isn't always the way" Kaidan said looking over at Garrus, a strange look in his eyes

Logan watched the two workers leave "FIST!" he yelled out "Let's make this easy shall we?" he asked, the sound of a shotgun being fired was his answer "no one ever listens" he said before pulling out his shotgun again, made a hand signal to Kaidan before he looked at Garrus and pointed at him before pointing at the wall on the left hand side then in the same motion pointed at Kaidan and pointed to the wall on the right side, Garrus nodded understanding, and rolled out of cover and fired into the auto turret Fist had set up, while Kaidan did the same to the turret on the other side.

Logan however went straight up the middle and used biotics to pull Fist towards him before slamming his shotgun into Fist's stomach dropping him to the ground "Now I need to know what happened to the quarian" Logan asked once the shooting had stopped

"Go fuck yourself, he will kill me if I say anything" Fist said and looked like he was going to say more but was interrupted by Logan's foot slamming into his chin

"What makes you think I won't kill you now?" Logan asked when he got no answer he turned to Garrus "shoot him in the kneecap, maybe that will jog his memory"

Garrus went to get his rifle when Fist started talking "There is an alley not far from here, she is there but it's not the Shadow Broker she'll meet, they are going to kill her and take the information off her" Fist said looking from one to the other

Logan nodded "Thanks but I can't let you walk away" he said and before Fist could protest shot him in the face and spraying his brains out. After quickly searching the safe, Logan knew he had to get a move on "Let's go, see what this quarian has"

**Four blocks away**

Tali was nervous standing there waiting, for Shadow Broker to show up when she saw a group heading towards her, two turians and four salarians, Tali had a bad feeling about this "Who are you where is the Shadow Broker?" she asked right away

"Relax, he will be here" one turian said as he ran a claw alongside her helmet "You got the data?" he asked

Tali slapped his hands away "That's it deals off" she said and went to walk away, the turian reached for her shoulder, not noticing the shotgun had disappeared off her back and was now in her hands, two squeezes of the trigger and he was dead.

Tali looked up just in time to see a salarian slam into a wall from biotics, turning she saw two humans and a turian, Tali couldn't help but be in awe of the human leader, he made everything look easy and within seconds he had killed them all, _'please let them be friendly''_ Tali thought as the human leader turned to face her, with a strange look in his eyes, Tali knew that he wanted her for something.

"Fist set me up, I am going to kill him" Tali said pacing back and forth.

The human leader stepped forward and looked her in the face "I am Commander Logan Shepard and you have something I want and you're going to give it to me" he said with no hint of a disagreement "Oh and Fist is dead, I killed him before getting here"

Tali shook her head "What? Wait?" she suddenly knew what this Commander wanted he had hunted her down, killed Fist and the assassin's sent after her now he was here for her "Thanks for taking out Fist but I can't just give you the information I have, it is the only insurance I have"

Logan smiled as if she had said a joke "I think your misunderstanding me, I killed Fist and I am going to be killing Saren as well, however I need the information you have" Logan said before walking closer "I am offering to be your friend, you do not want to be my enemy" he said calmly, the threat hanging in the air like a bad smell

Tali swallowed before what he said occurred to her, he wants Saren not her, but he would kill her if he had to "You're after Saren? Then I can repay you" she said before looking at her Omni-tool and pressing play "Listen to this" she said


	13. Spectre, Logan Shepard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan has to find Dr T'soni before the geth do, but can he trust her?

**Attican Beta/Theseus System/Feros**

When Shiala, an asari commando stepped onto the brown dirt of the human colony Feros, she scanned the horizon before following Saren and the geth, Shiala was amazed the colonists all ignored them even though there was an army of geth behind them, Shiala did not ask why they were here, she couldn't ask anyway, she was lead under the colony where the smell of compost and plant matter filled the narrow confines and that was when she saw it, a plant the likes of which she had never seen.

Saren turned to her before continuing to talk to the Thorian "As we agreed, one asari commando in exchange for information" he explained and even though it was the first time Shiala had heard of this part of the plan she did not resist and try to run, she was a slave and she knew it and to make matters worse, she was a willing one, she screamed inside her own head as she felt a new presence in her mind but she made no sound even when the giant plant absorbed her.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos system /Therum**

Doctor Liara T'Soni was so excited, her first field operation and on a real prothean ruin. The humans on the colony were not used to seeing non-humans here, but she ignored the strange looks and quickly got to work, studying everything she could see and marking it down.

Not all humans were wary of her though, there was a young human male by the name of Jake, who would watch her from a distance and every now and then would stumble over his words if she tried to talk to him, she suspected that he was interested in her but was too shy to do anything about it, young human males always seemed to be interested in asari almost bordering on obsession, Liara knew this human was harmless though and looked as if he was still very young, so Liara ignored him unless he tried to talk to her which was rare.

That changed when the geth ships appeared in the skies above Therum and started shooting humans and impaling them on giant spikes they bought with them, Liara was inside one of the ruins at the time and could only look on in horror as countless humans were slaughtered in front of her, that's when she saw a krogan look towards her and point and at once a platoon of Geth all turned towards her and started moving towards her.

Liara ran shooting any husks that got to close, the Geth were the bigger problem though even if they were weak against biotics which was the only thing that allowed Liara to go further into the ruin, Jake was there holding a pistol, covered in bright red human blood.

"They…shot them" he said shaking he saw Liara and at that moment Liara realized just how young he was fifteen or sixteen in human years "What…what do we do?" he asked looking scared

Liara was in the process of answering him while putting a hand on his shoulder "I think I know of one place where they can't reach us" she told him while taking his hand when she did she heard a gunshot and felt Jake's hand go limp, turning around Jake now had a hole in his forehead.

Liara screamed and let go of his hand just as a squad of geth come around the corner with weapons raised, they did not shoot her though instead moved to try and stop her from running, with a boiling rage that seemingly came from nowhere she lashed out with biotics tearing the small squad of geth limb from limb, the geth never stood a chance, such a needless waste of life and these machines were gunning down innocent people and stepping over their corpses and all of it to get to her. Liara made it to the prothean device and tried to get it to work.

"Come on" she swore as she could hear more geth and those horrible creatures they turned the humans into coming towards her when with a flash of blue light she was lifted off her feet and was now unable to move, on the other side of the energy field the geth and the corrupted humans slammed their hands against the field unable to get in.

**Citadel/Presidium/Council Chambers**

Logan Shepard could not stop smiling, he knew the council would not be able to ignore this; of course Udina quickly ruined his mood.

"How about you shut up for a minute and I will tell you what I have found" Shepard said before looking over at Tali and giving her a nod to start the recording and plans were quickly made to take the findings to the Council.

Tali was unsure of human interaction but was pleased to see that the human commander was not a bad man but instead was focused on the interests of his race, not that Tali could fault him for that, if the quarians had been attacked like the humans had been, she did not know how they would respond. Tali offered her help which was quickly accepted by the human commander who insisted on being called Shepard or Logan, but she did not feel it was right calling a leader of a ship by his first name, so Shepard or Commander.

Tali's surprise did not end there; the human commander sent the other human back to the ship and told him to tell them there would be a quarian coming aboard. Tali could not believe it her first time on the Citadel and she was going into a Council meeting.

"The Council does not like me very much so this could be interesting" Logan said looking at Garrus.

"Well they have to listen to this" Garrus said sounding not so sure about that.

"We will see either way" Logan said as he walked up the stairs towards the council chambers.

The council believed the recording but were unsure of what to do next, Udina suggested sending a fleet after one man and that was rejected quickly, the asari councillor though casually suggested making Logan a Spectre, something the turian councillor tried to reject straight away.

"No, it is too soon, they are not ready" the turian councillor snapped while looking down at Logan as if was something he had stepped in.

"It was a turian that betrayed this council and it was a human who exposed him, I earned this" Logan snapped back.

The turian councillor lowered his head before giving the nod, which the other two councillors agreed, the asari councillor made some speech that Logan should of listened to but instead was too busy hiding his smile, the traitor was his to hunt and thanks to the Council, Logan now could track him anywhere and would, he could not help but think that the Council did not know what lengths he would go.

"I have been ready since Eden Prime" Logan said finally smiling.

After walking out, Logan and the other's headed for the Normandy, walking in silence while Shepard was trying to make sense of the vision the beacon gave him

Tali and Garrus relaxed until the both saw a large krogan standing next to the lift to the space port "I don't like the look of this" Garrus said.

The krogan stood up straight when he saw Logan and walked towards him "You're Commander Shepard, names Urdnot Wrex, I was paid to take down Fist but you got him first" the krogan said standing very close to Logan's face.

"Not my fault if you're slow on the draw" Logan said chuckling and placed on hand on his pistol, so casually that if you were not looking at his hand you might of missed it.

"I don't like where this is going" Garrus said to Tali.

Wrex seemed to notice Logan's hand but didn't say anything about it, instead "when I get paid to finish a job, I finish it but you finished it so the credits are yours" he said taking a step back slightly "I want to join you, a storm's coming, and you and Saren are right in the middle of it and I want to be where the action is"" he said almost suddenly.

"Saren already has krogan's working for him, why would I want you on board" Logan asked crossing his arms across his chest.

"Those aren't krogan's, they are puppets, licking the boots of Saren for promises of power and glory" Wrex explained.

Tali spoke up at that point "How can you fight your own people?"

Wrex looks at Tali and half smiles "Anyone who fights us is either stupid or on Saren's payroll. Killing the latter is business. Killing the former is a favor to the universe"

Logan smiled "Welcome aboard then Wrex" he said offering his hand to Wrex who shook it without hesitation.

Logan nodded "You guys go up and wait for us I don't think the lift will fit all of us anyway" he told them and once they were out of earshot Logan turned to Wrex "you better be straight up with me, if you cross me you will not live long enough to regret it"

Wrex laughed at that "This will be fun, you can relax human and if I wanted you dead you would know about it" Wrex was silent for a moment then turned to Logan "You say the same thing to the others?" he asked.

Logan chuckled "The others are not bounty hunters and to be honest I had thought if I did have a bounty on my head you wouldn't let a chance like this slip by, confined in a lift with me, alone, good chance to cash it in" Logan explained.

Wrex laughed "So you thought you could take me in here if need be?" he asked while looking at Logan.

Logan smiled and moved a hand which was on the other side of him so Wrex could now see it; it was holding a gun "well I did have a gun trained on you the whole time"

Wrex laughed when he noticed "Sneaky human, you're good I'll give you that"

Logan smiled and stepped onto the lift and made his way up to the Normandy "Well this is our ship" he said "you should have enough room in the cargo bay, sorry but we are not really used to having krogan on board" as he saw Captain Anderson and Udina waiting for them.

Wrex said it was fine and just listened to the humans talk amongst them and worked out there was a change in leadership for the ship, something Shepard did not seem to like before the discussed options, but quickly moved the talk onto where to look for Saren next.

"We have lost contact with Feros and there are reports of geth activity on Noveria, there is also the matriarch's daughter, last we heard she was researching prothean ruins, which means she could be already working with her mother but that is unlikely" Udina said.

Logan nodded "Then we look for her first, it would be nice to know what all of this prothean beacon stuff means"

Udina cleared his throat and said "Just remember, we were a human before you were a Spectre" sounding worried.

Logan just shook his head "I'll find Saren no matter what, It's your job to deal with the political fallout" as he nodded to Anderson and started to walk away.

"Not the answer I was hoping for Shepard" Udina said shaking his head.

Logan walked onto the ship with the three aliens closely following him, when the ship decontamination process began he turned around to look at them "Now some of the humans on this ship might be distrustful of you, but the best way to get them to trust you is to do your job well and of course follow the rules, which I will explain shortly" he said before adding "but if anyone does give you a hard time tell me and I will sort it out"

The doors opened after the scan was complete "This is the CIC, only needed personal should be here" he told them "but follow me and I'll show you were the bunks are"

Garrus looked around before asking "Is there anything I can do on the ship Commander? I would hate to just sit around doing nothing between missions"

Logan turned and looked at Garrus "Well there is one thing; it would be a bit insulting for someone with your talents though" he explained "We need someone to keep the Mako operational"

Garrus nodded "What's a Mako?" he asked

"Land vehicle" Logan answered "our last guy that did it...we lost him on Eden Prime" he said quietly

Garrus was silent for a moment before nodding "I'll be happy to pick up the slack"

Logan showed them the bunks, the Med-bay and his quarters before taking them down to engineering, when the doors opened and they stepped out, Logan pointed to a huge six wheeled tank "That is the Mako" he said sounding a little proud.

Wrex walked off by himself and found a comfortable spot for himself that was out of the way.

Tali cleared her throat but before she could say anything Logan turned and smiled "Don't worry, I didn't forget about you" he said as he walked down a hallway away from the other's "you grew up on a ship and based on what you did with the get I got the perfect job for you" he explained as the doors opened and Tali saw a beautiful drive core, Tali thought it looked like a masterpiece.

"Adams?" Shepard called out and when a human man walked over Shepard introduced them "Adams this is Tali Zorah, she has a bit of talent for tech, I am sure you can make good use of her" Shepard said smiling at them both "any problems let me know" he said and left.

Tali could not help grinning, she never thought she would be working on a ship this high tech, but she was determined to prove herself, this would be a lot of fun, she thought to herself.

**Artemis Tau / Knossos system / In orbit around Therum**

Tali had been on the ship for only a few weeks now, but already she had managed to make a good impression on engineer Adams, Tali was surprised to see Shepard coming to talk to her more than once and had talked to her about the geth, life on the fleet and other topics the really surprising thing was he seemed very interested in what she had to say, she thought that a few of the human crew members didn't trust her but she remembered what Shepard had said and just focused on doing her job.

Tali was heading towards the mess hall to get some dinner when she saw Shepard near the Mako with his shirt off hanging upside down with those strange human legs holding himself to the bar above him and pulling himself up, Tali stood there transfixed not sure why she was staring at him but she was standing there for a while before she noticed Ashley Williams also watching him, when the two women noticed each other, Tali looked at her feet and quickly walked away.

"Commander, can I speak with you for a moment?" she asked.

Shepard sighed "Yeah sure, what's up Chief?" he said.

Ashley rubbed her forehead "Well two things really" she said before pausing as if thinking about how to put it into words.

"Just speak your mind Williams" He told her crossing his arms.

"Ok, I am not sure we should allow the aliens full access to the ship, communications, weapons and engines" she said "I mean just cos they are our friends now doesn't mean they will stay that way" she told him while watching Tali head back to the engine room.

"You have not worked with aliens before have you?" Logan asked.

Ashley shook her head "No sir" she told him as well as telling him that her family has always served in the alliance and despite that her service record is outstanding she has only ever had one rotation in space but never mentioned why.

Logan knew they should be nearing Therum soon and needed to get ready "Look I can see what you're saying but this is problem is bigger than just us, you have to work with them, like it or not" he told her while wiping off sweat with a towel.

'No problem Commander, you tell me to jump I say how high, you tell me to kiss a turian I say which cheek" Ashley joked smirking slightly.

Shepard laughed "not sure I will need you to do that, but thanks anyway" he laughed before having a drink "what is the other issue?"

Ashley sighed "It is about Feros, are we going to help them first?" Williams asked.

Shepard looked at her and could see she was worried about them "No, we need to find out what the geth are looking for, doesn't make much sense for Feros to be under siege for this long unless they were after something, I don't want to go in blind"

Ashley looked shocked "But what if they do what they tried with Eden Prime and blow it up?"

Shepard sighed "this mission is bigger than one colony, we just have to hope they can hold out until we get there" he said as he noticed Ashley didn't really like that answer.

"And if they can't?" Ashley asked.

Shepard just looked at her and didn't answer "We will be looking for Dr Liara T'soni and with any luck we will find her and maybe she can give us some answers" he told her before walking away. Logan was still thinking about what the beacon showed him, he was hoping this doctor would be able to fill in some of the blanks, so he could at least make sense of it, he knew he didn't have long to wait now.

**Artemis Tau / Knossos system / on the surface of Therum**

Liara feared she was starting to lose her mind, trapped behind an impenetrable force field, with no way to move or even a way out she was forced to relieve herself however she could making her feel disgusting, on top of that she also had a itch on her nose for the last hour or so. The krogan battlemaster sat in front of the field and talked to her endlessly, trying to get her to deactivate the field, when that didn't work he tried shooting it but of course that didn't work either, the krogan at one point had to rushed off checking his weapon as he went, from what Liara could gather someone unexpected was here on Therum.

**Four miles away**

Logan Shepard had taken the Mako and alongside him were Kaidan and Wrex, something that Williams was not happy with but Logan wanted to put the krogan through his paces. By sheer luck Shepard had started the search in the Knossos system and found Therum pretty quickly.

Logan was driving the Mako while Wrex worked the cannon and Kaidan navigated, within a few minutes of driving on the hot surface of Therum geth dropped to the ground from a dropship, including a new type Logan had never seen before, an armature a giant four legged tank type.

"I got this one" Logan said as he ran one of the large geth over while Wrex shot the other.

"Ha road kill" Wrex laughed.

Logan smiled and kept driving after dealing with a few more they reached a gate, which Wrex recommended taking the side path.

One thing that Kaidan noticed was just how fast Logan drove the Mako with the speed combined with the bumps on the surface and of course all the jumping Shepard insisted on doing to avoid incoming rockets, Kaidan was starting to feel a little sick and was happy to get out of the Mako even for a short while.

Logan lead the way of course once out of the Mako and after killing the remaining geth inside the makeshift outpost quickly found the switch for the gate "Ok, on we go" he told them.

"Yay" Kaidan said to himself under his breath.

They got back in and took off again shooting more armatures, bouncing around on the rocky surface and jumping to avoid rocket fire, Kaidan was feeling sick again, Shepard drove the Mako like a madman, at one point going into a tunnel he had even managed to hit the ceiling of the tunnel on the way into it and even jumping out of the tunnel to directly land on top of a geth trooper wielding a rocket launcher. After short drive after the second tunnel they had reached another spot where they had to leave the Mako and continue on foot. The geth quickly swarmed them but Kaidan and Logan already knew a big weakness geth all shared and after Wrex saw that biotics worked very well, he used his own biotics leaving a shocked looking Logan staring at him.

"You didn't tell me you were a biotic" Logan said once the geth were dead.

"What does it matter?" Wrex asked.

Logan just shook his head "Just that I didn't know, I had thought krogan biotics were rare and for geth are weak against biotics is all"

Wrex smiled "krogan battle masters use biotics, just happens I am one"

Logan nodded "good to know" he said and moved up the hill, that is when they saw a new type of geth, one that was bouncing all over the place and climbing along the walls, behind this new geth was another armature and of course a heap of geth troopers "GET TO COVER!" Logan yelled.

Wrex and Kaidan quickly did so, soon followed by Logan "Kaidan, take out those hopping bastards" he said while throwing one geth with biotics "Wrex, your with me, leave the big one till last"

Hurling a grenade in the middle of the group killed two but the rest kept coming, "Hoppers down" Kaidan yelled before he took aim at the troopers

Wrex took down another trooper with his rifle before ducking back behind cover just as the armature fired a blast missing him barely "Close one"

Logan threw a another geth with biotics, leaving just the armature left "Focus on the big guy now, cover me" he said running to new cover while Wrex and Kaidan opened fire on the armature, allowing Shepard to dove behind cover on the other side of them.

Once he was there he threw another grenade which the armature took as if it was nothing, Logan ducked behind cover as a blast from its main gun kicked up dirt near him while Wrex hit the armature twice with his shotgun before, the large geth turned towards him once it did Kaidan lined up a sabotage attack on it while Shepard threw yet another grenade finally blowing the armature to bits. While they had been outnumbered lucky for them their team work and the use of the cover that they had stopped any injuries from happening.

Logan cracked his neck and walked past all the dead geth, noticing for the first time a few human remains just past them "Bastards killed everyone, just to get to this one doctor" he told the others

Kaidan shook his head "Do you think she is on their side?"

Wrex came up beside them "Doubt it" he said in his raspy voice "the geth made a mess here if she was on their side she could of just walked out and left" he said looking down at the burnt body of a miner "this was a message for her, 'come with us and we won't do to you what we did to them'"

Logan had to admit that did make sense "So if they have her where is she now?" he asked looking around "I'm guessing they didn't want us in here" he told them pointing to a ramp that went into the mountain "let's go"

As Wrex worked up the ramp and into the tunnel leading down into the mountain, he noticed just how hot it was, for a krogan the temperature was fine could even stand for it being a bit hotter, but being a krogan and evolved from lizards meant that he could handle the heat better "fifty more degrees and I would start to feel comfortable, How are you mammals doing Shepard?" he asked

Logan was sweating inside his armour and at first though Wrex was mocking him and Kaidan but then it occurred to him that Wrex might think that they were going to pass out or something "Fine" Logan stopped for a moment "Water break" he said taking out some water and after a mouthful tipped it over his head after waiting for Kaidan to do the same they continued on.

Down the tunnel and out in the large cavern beneath, after coming across another squad of geth and quickly dispatching them, they made their way to a large energy field.

"Hello? I'm trapped, can anyone hear me out there?" a female voice calls out

As Logan dropped down a level he saw her a young asari that would have been quite beautiful if she wasn't scared out of her mind and had stains on her clothes that Logan could guess where from bodily fluids "Keep it down, there are geth all over this place"

"For a moment there, you sounded real" she said

Logan shook his head "I am real, I'm a Spectre and I'm here to help" Logan told her "You must be Dr Liara T'soni"

Liara blinked as if trying to make sure he was real "Nice try, but there are no human Spectre's" she scoffs "but a Spectre is what I guess I would imagine coming to rescue me, but yes I am Dr T'soni I'm an archaeologist, I was exploring the prothean ruins when I was attacked by geth, can you imagine geth outside of the veil, they killed all the miners, I ran in here for protection and become trapped by this security device"

Logan shook his head "Must have been in there for a while" he says to the others "I need to ask you questions"

Liara looks taken back "Odd I would imagine him asking something like that, I suppose it won't hurt to humour a figment of my imagination"

Logan frowned "Matriarch Benezia has joined Saren, whose side are you on?" he asked.

Liara started to sound upset "What? I am on nobody's side; I have not spoken to her in years"

Logan looked at Wrex and Kaidan "Think she is telling the truth?"

Wrex nodded "I doubt she would lock herself in there just to shit all over herself"

Kaidan took a look at her "I believe her"

Logan nodded "I going to get you out of there, don't go anywhere" he joked.

Liara laughed at that "Great, now I am being mocked by myself"

Logan walked away from Liara and headed down where they were attacked by more geth, Wrex blew made short work of one, blowing it in half while Kaidan threw the other across the room

"Look at this" Logan said looking at a mining laser and where it was pointed "I wonder?" he said to himself and hacked the starting switch.

WHOOSH, the laser starting burning into the rock, revealing a lift underneath.

"Lucky guess" Logan said to himself as he headed towards the lift.

They went back up one floor and noticed they were behind the filed now and close enough to shut off the field holding Liara in place.

"Oh thank the Goddess you are real, please help me" Liara said as soon as she noticed that they were there "how did you get in here though?" she asked.

Logan smiled and simply said "superior firepower" he said before adding "We found a mining laser and blasted our way in"

Liara nodded "yes of course that makes sense" that would explain the noise she heard.

Logan walked over and pressed the button turning off the field "there now let's get out of here" as Liara dropped to the ground.

Logan put an arm around her and helped her to her feet, ignoring the bad smell coming from her, since she would have been stuck in there for days he cut her some slack "just lean on me we are getting out of here" he said heading towards the another elevator.

"I don't understand why the geth are after me?" Liara asked as she moved away from Shepard and learned against the wall, she felt disgusting and didn't feel like sharing that stench with anyone else at the moment.

"Maybe because Saren may have wanted you're a prothean expert, he may think you know where there conduit is" Kaidan explained.

Liara only looked confused "Conduit? I have never even heard of it" she told them before thinking something else just as troubling "do you think Benezia is involved?" she asked hopeful that Logan and the others were wrong. Before they could answer though tremors rocked the elevator from side to side.

Kaidan braced himself "The mining laser must of weakened the whole structure" he said almost falling off his feet.

"Joker we need EVAC, double time it mister" Logan ordered over the comms.

"Copy that, ETA seven minutes" was the reply.

Liara didn't like the sound of that "Your pilot needs to move faster.

"If I die down here, I'll kill him" Wrex said dryly.

Once they made their way to the surface Liara could see that krogan battle master again as well as a group of geth.

"Surrender or don't that will be more fun" the krogan warned.

Logan nudged Liara behind him "How stupid are you? This whole place is coming down" Logan snarled.

The krogan chuckled "exhilarating isn't it?" before taking a step forward "hand the doctor over, Saren want's her and Saren always gets what he wants"

Liara spoke up at that point "I am not going anywhere with you"

Logan smirked "Looks like she made her choice, you want her you have to go through me"

The krogan seemed to like that and ordered the geth near him "Kill them spare the asari if you can, if not doesn't matter"

Liara couldn't believe it this human was willing to fight a krogan battle master for her, she wanted to help, to show that she wasn't weak and that she could help but with no food, water, very little sleep and her legs feeling weak from being unused for so long Liara could barely keep her head up and dropped to the ground.

Logan headed straight towards the krogan while Wrex and Kaidan focused on the geth, Logan threw a grenade at the krogan while Kaidan threw a geth off the side and sent it falling hundreds of feet to the rocks below, Wrex blew one geth apart before grabbing it and using it as a shield to gun the rest of them down.

Logan took down the krogans shields, but before he could finish the job, a shotgun round to the chest sent him backwards, if not for his shield he would be dead right now, once he hit the ground though he fired his pistol at the large legs of the krogan blowing the creatures knee caps out, dropping the krogan to the ground where Logan fired three more shots this time into its head "Remember Kaidan with krogan, three in the head then their dead" he told him before he noticed Wrex looking at him "you bastards are too damn hard to kill" he explained

Wrex chuckled at that "Sounds like a smart strategy"

Logan went over to Liara and helped her back up to her feet "We are leaving" he said as another tremor shook, standing up all of them ran out of the prothean ruin just in time to see the Normandy coming into focus, while explosions hurled rock and lava in all directions, as they ran for their lives dodging falling rocks they made it outside. Logan stopped to catch his breath and made his way onto the ship.

"Everyone ok?" he asked after he got a nod from Wrex and Kaidan.

Liara breathed heavy and nodded "Yes thank you"

Logan nodded "Clean up guys and meet me in the war room in twenty minutes"

Liara was unsure what was going on now but before she could ask anything the commander looked at her "Don't worry you're not a prisoner, have a shower and get changed into a clean set of clothes. We have spares if you need them" Logan told her

Logan watched as she left, unsure what to make of her. Logan made his way to his cabin and had a quick shower and got dressed before making his way to the war room. He told Liara about the attack on Eden Prime, Saren betraying the council and the geth memory core Tali found.

Liara listened to it all but couldn't tell them what the Conduit was, she could tell them that she had a theory about the Prothean's not being the first race to disappear but she didn't know who came before them or even why the prothean's disappeared.

Logan smiled despite himself watching Liara talk about the prothean's, she lit up and was very excited and seemed like she could talk about them all day, much the same way Tali could talk about ships

'I know why" Logan said and again watched her face light up, he told her about the beacon on Eden Prime and the vision.

'Of course, the chance to stay a working beacon even a damaged one would be worth any risk" She explained "I am surprised you were even able to make sense of it, it was meant for prothean minds meaning it would be confused, distorted" she said before thinking about it for a second "you must be incredibly strong willed Commander" she said with a slight smile.

"None of this is helping us find the Conduit or Saren" Ashley interjected

"Of course I'm sorry" Liara said looking a little embarrassed "I do know that you saved my life Commander not just from Therum but from the geth, that krogan would of killed me or dragged me back to Saren"

Logan nodded "Well I think it would be better off if you stayed with us, your prothean expertise might come in handy"

"Plus her biotics will come in handy in a fight" Wrex said.

Liara nodded "I could not think of a safer place Commander and it's possible Saren might come after me again, thank you" she looked as if she was going to say more until she swayed as if unsteady on her feet "ah"

"Maybe you should get Doctor Chakwas to have a look at you" Logan suggested.

"When was the last time you have eaten anything? Or slept?" Kaidan asked her.

Liara held her head for a moment "I think it is mental exhaustion, combined with the shock of learning the prothean's true fate, but it would not hurt to have a medical professional examine me"

Logan nodded "go get checked out and get something to eat" he told her before dismissing all of them.

Joker's voice came over the comm systems "Report is away Commander, Council is online as well"

"Put them through Joker" Logan said as the holograms of the council appeared on screen.

"We just received your report Commander" the salarian councilor said "we understand you have Doctor T'soni on board"

"We trust that you are taking the necessary security precautions with her?" the turian councilor asked.

"Don't tell me how to do my job" Logan said coldly "the geth were trying to kill her too"

The asari councilor always the voice of reason stepped in "We are only here to advise you Commander" she said "there is no way Benezia would allow that"

The turian councilor shrugged "Maybe she doesn't know or maybe we don't know her" he said rather dismissive "she is a traitor after all" he added before asking "was the destruction of a major prothean ruin really necessary?"

Logan rolled his eyes "We were lucky to even get out of there, there were geth all over the place"

"Of course Commander the mission always comes first" the salarian councilor said.

In the medical bay Liara was getting dressed after Doctor Chakwas said all was ok "Thank you Doctor Chakwas, I am surprised you are as knowledgeable on asari biology" Liara said.

Chakwas smiled "You still need to eat something, doctors' orders"

Liara smiled and told her she will and had just finished getting dressed when she heard Shepard talking to Chakwas in the next room, saw him enter the room a moment later holding a plate of food.

Liara raised an eyebrow "Commander are you checking in on me?"

"You're looking much better, how are you feeling?" Logan asked as he handed her the plate "here I know you haven't eaten yet" Logan said before adding "It's a ham and cheese sandwich"

"Thank you for your concern Commander, but I assure you I am fine" Liara told him, taking the plate of food off him anyway, she was hungry and she did not want to offend him "What's ham and cheese?" she asked.

Logan smiled "human food, it's good, if you don't eat meat just take that off" he told her "

Liara took a bite and had to admit it was good, "I want to thank you again for rescuing me, I know you took a risk in bringing me on board I have seen the way the crew looks at me, they do not trust me, but I want to tell you I am not like Benezia"

"I know Liara" Logan said.

"Thank you Commander that means a lot to hear you say that" Liara said as she took another bite.

The two of them spoke about her mother and what she was like and how this was very out of character for her, before the subject moved onto the protheans.

"I am not used to spending time with your people Shepard" Liara admitted "I spend most of my time alone studying" she told him watching as he leaned against a table "I find I tend to make a fool of myself in some way"

"Sounds lonely though" Logan said "run into any trouble?"

"I enjoy the quiet" she told him "I have ran into pirate's and slaver's sometimes but I have never come across anything that my biotics could not handle, until the geth that is" Liara said taking another bite of her sandwich "I can't believe you had contact with a working prothean beacon, you would make an excellent in depth study"

Logan smirked "Sounds like you want to dissect me in lab somewhere" he joked.

Liara almost choked on her 'sandwich' "What? No I only meant you are a fascinating specimen… no wait that it is even worse" her face was going bright red in color which looked interesting to Shepard on her blue skin "I never meant to offend you Shepard"

Logan smiled "Calm down Liara I was only joking"

"Joking? …Oh my goodness how could I be so dense, you must think I am a complete fool" Liara remarked looking embarrassed "This is why I don't spend much time around people, can we just forget this happened?"

Logan smiled "Of course" he said taking plate off her and told her to get some sleep.

After he left Liara, Logan did the rounds and spoke to Kaidan about his thoughts on the mission as well as getting to know him better, learned why Garrus was unhappy at C-Sec and his hatred of red tape and had Tali confuse him about the geth and how they think, Logan knew she was a smart girl, but her problem seemed to be that she thought everyone understood what she was saying.

"Tali, I have to admit, I am not a tech, a lot of this stuff is beyond me so at any point if you think I am not understanding you about tech, then you are most likely right" Logan told her chuckling.

"Sorry Commander" Tali said "all you really need to know is that they get smarter in larger numbers" she told him.

"It's ok Tali, I don't understand it but that's why I need you around" Logan told her smiling.

Tali smiled and tried to remain calm "Thank you Commander" she said as she was a little taken back by the remark Shepard had said, and after he had left she couldn't stop thinking about it.

After talking to Tali, Logan offended Wrex when the subject came up about the genophage, after apologizing and making small talk about the krogan, Joker's voice came over the comms.

"Commander, we are picking up a distress signal from the planet's surface" Joker said 'Alliance signal"

"Alenko get your gear" Logan called out knowing Joker would pass on the message "Williams you too" Logan said getting his gear ready, after meeting them by the Mako, Shepard filled them in on the mission "Distress signal from Alliance marines, don't know what we will be walking into down there so just keep an eye out" he said before turning to get in "Williams your on guns, Kaidan your navigating again" he told them as they entered the Mako.

Watching the rear of the Normandy open up after everyone had gotten clear, Kaidan could tell he was not going to like this, as the door was open far enough Shepard floored the Mako sending flying out the back of the ship.

Wrex, Garrus and Tali were watching the Mako drive out into nothingness they all could of sworn they heard Kaidan and Ashley yell "OH SHIT!"


	14. Who is Commander Shepard?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara tries to find out more about Logan.

Kaidan stepped out of the Mako and almost immediately threw up; Ashley also came running out afterwards holding her hand across her mouth and looking very pale that's when Logan stepped out looking confused

"Oh come on you babies it wasn't that bad" Logan told them

"Commander, you tried to back flip the Mako" Kaidan told him

"Off a hundred foot cliff" Ashley added "which failed"

Garrus walked over when he heard the noise and just stood there in shock as he stared at the Mako, which had thick black smoke coming off it and seemed to of been hit with…acid? "What did you do Commander?" he asked as he neared the Mako

"Don't touch it yet" Shepard warned "Thresher maw acid"

"You took on a Thresher Maw?" Garrus asked "damn I would of liked to of been there"

Ashley shook her head "Trust me you wouldn't" she told him before walking away

Logan shook his head "babies" he mumbled "Garrus I'll need you to get this baby up and running again" he told him "someone had placed an Alliance distress beacon right on top of a Thresher nest"

Garrus shook his head "who would do such a thing?" he asked while carefully looking at the Mako "and this might take some time Commander"

Logan run his hands though his hair "No idea and if you need a hand ask Tali to help, she is good with machines" he told him

Garrus shook his head "I can manage" he said

**One floor up**

Liara was reading the medical report of Shepard after he came in contact with the beacon; she also had to do some research on humans as she didn't really understand what she was looking at, she didn't look at human nervous system but would look at that later, as she didn't want to get distracted, asari were unlike other races, instead of being attracted to looks, they were attracted to how those races felt sensations and their psychology and mental strength something that made humans very attractive to asari, of course the fact they looked similar to each other did not hurt either.

What Liara did find was that humans were varied and that made it harder to work out exactly what allowed Shepard to survive, she thought that maybe she should search for information on human males not just a general search after all, females of other species behaved differently to their male counterparts so she could not see why humans would be any different but she concluded Shepard was either very strong willed or very lucky and she was leaning towards the former.

Deciding to expand her research into his personal history she started with a simple search and was shocked to discover page after page written on him some of which was very negative, some pages she found on the extranet labelled him a deranged killer others called him a hero, she needed to find out what made him so strong willed so she felt to get a complete picture she should start from the beginning, his childhood.

Logan had just finished writing his report on what was found on the planet, an Alliance distress beacon placed right in the middle of a Thresher Maw nest, the implications were disturbing, he needed some food after all that, so he made his way to the mess hall. Logan saw that Wrex was also there eating a large plate of food.

"Hey Shepard" Wrex said looking up "heard you had some fun without me on that last run, Thresher Maws" he said chuckling.

Logan smiled and shook his head "Someone placed an Alliance distress beacon right in the middle of a nest" he said shaking his head.

Wrex nodded as he took a bite of food "I heard, nasty trick" he said looking more at his food than at Shepard.

"Say you wouldn't know of anyone with a grudge that could do that would you?" Logan asked.

Wrex looked up at that point "Just what are you asking Shepard?" Wrex asked clearly taking offence to his question.

"Relax" Logan told him "Just asking if you heard anything" Logan said taking a mouthful of food "You know, maybe word got out someone had a score to settle, might of tried to hire you or other merc's, could have been anything, but my instincts tell me that if there was someone out there who wanted to hurt the Alliance they may have been hiring at some point and if they weren't that tells me they were military of some kind" Logan said taking a drink

Wrex relaxed "In that case, yeah there was a few but none with the access to an Alliance beacon, which can only mean it was a …."

"Black-op" Logan finished for him "shit I was hoping you wouldn't say that" Logan finished his meal and stood up "thanks anyway Wrex" Logan said walking away

"Anytime Shepard" the Krogan said still sitting down

Logan had a shower and afterwards went to see how Tali was coping

"Hi Shepard do you need something?" she asked in her normal perky voice, although Logan noticed that Tali sounded as if something was bothering her

"You ok Tali?" Logan asked

"I am not used to this ship, how do you sleep when it is so quiet?" she asked looking into his face.

Logan chuckled at that "Wait the quiet is bad?"

Tali nodded "On the Migrant Fleet, quiet means something has broken down like an air filter or an engine" she explained.

Logan smiled "You will get used to it" he said "anything else that's hard to get used to?"

Tali seemed to perk up talking about her home always seemed to do that "The Normandy feels empty" she said "it's like half the crew is missing." She said before adding that she was impressed with the Normandy and how she suddenly understood why humans had been so successful.

Logan looked up at the drive core and said "It is a prototype, first of its kind" he told her proudly "no idea how she works but she is a beautiful ship"

Tali followed his gaze "Just a short time ago I was on board the Migrant Fleet and now I am standing in one the most advanced ships in Citadel space" she remarked before looking back at Logan "And if you want to know how it works I could show you" she offered.

Logan smiled "maybe some other time but I will think about it" he told her "try and get some sleep Tali" he told her before he left the engineering deck.

Logan yawned as he made his way over to Garrus "How is the Mako, coming Garrus?" he asked.

Garrus was underneath the Mako at that point, all Logan could see was his feet "Good Commander, it should be ready tomorrow morning" he said sliding out from underneath.

Logan nodded "good, I want to take you on the next ground team, so make sure you get plenty of rest" he told him.

Garrus seemed happy at that news before he realized that that meant he would have to allow someone else work on the Mako, now Garrus had a problem, he really wanted to go on the ground team but he disliked the idea of any one replacing him working on the Mako.

Logan sensed his hesitation "Relax Garrus, I need you on the ground and we don't know when that will be, besides you need sleep" he told him while turning around and waving over an engineer.

"Sir?" the young engineer said saluting.

Logan looked at her before looking back at Garrus "Garrus here needs some shut eye, so you are taking over on the Mako" he told her before he turned back to Garrus.

"Catch her up on what needs to be done and get some rest" Logan told him before adding "That is an order Garrus"

The engineer nodded before looking at Garrus and Logan left the two talking over repairs. He yawned again making his way up to his cabin and got undressed, he normally slept naked, made it easier to get ready in a hurry if he needed to put his armour on, but just in case he had his clothes nearby on the back of a chair.

Logan went fast to sleep, it was not long before the nightmares began, Torfan still played on his mind, watching friends be torn apart with mining tools, wiping Melina's brains off his face, the sight of Jamal dead just a few feet from the love of his life that was burnt alive and of course Jamie dying in his arms. The vision he got from the beacon was new though and as sickening as the memories from Torfan were, the vision was much worse, images of people, which he couldn't make out clear details of being slaughtered in the billions, the details of the beings themselves may have been hazy but the sheer scale of death was perfectly clear.

Logan sat up suddenly soaked in sweat and breathing heavy, with a sigh he got up and looked at the time, three am, knowing he wouldn't get back to sleep now he got up and put some shorts on, knowing that no one else would be around he didn't feel like he needed to really get dressed, one good thing at being awake at this hour was he could help himself to breakfast before anyone else was awake.

After grabbing the paper work he needed to finish and taking that with him out to the mess hall he sat down with a tall glass of juice and a bowl of cereal. The only people who were still awake were the night crew, but they left him alone.

Logan sat there eating his cereal staring off into space while reading the report and taking a mouth of juice every now and then he was so out of it he didn't even notice Williams sit down beside him.

"Rough night Commander?" she asked.

Logan just looked at her and nodded "Yeah" he said simply.

Ashley just nodded "want to talk about it?" she asked.

Logan looked at her, realizing she just wanted to help her CO, he bit back his response to make a smartass comment and just said "what do you know of Torfan?" he asked her simply.

Ashley was taken back, she never thought she would be having this talk with THE Commander Logan Shepard "Just what they told us" she answered "I spoke with a few guys that were there though, said that they were glad it was you leading them and not Major Kyle" she said.

Major Kyle, there was a name Logan had not heard in a while, last he heard Kyle was being carried out of Torfan with a broken jaw "I tried going to the funeral of one my guys" Logan said not looking at her "His folks spat in my face, told me that I had killed there son" he said before looking at her "being kicked out of a funeral is not something I wish to repeat" his voice was almost monotone.

Ashley shook her head, she couldn't believe someone would do that, Shepard's monotone voice somehow made it sink in just that little bit more, Ashley was at a loss of what to say, she looked at Shepard's face and saw a slightly haunted look behind his eyes "they couldn't of known what it was like down there" she said finally "and the men and women I have spoken to have said that there would have been a lot more dead, if you were not there" she said.

Logan nodded "I know" he said simply "you once said you couldn't imagine what it was like" he said while looking at her "It isn't the memories of the slavers I killed that bother me, it's the men and women that I couldn't save" he told her before having another drink of juice "That is what I meant by every time you kill it gets a little easier" he said looking down at his cereal.

Ashley nodded "Well I will make sure, my family knows that I wouldn't have passed this up for the world" she told him "I just want to say thank you for bringing me along" she said.

Logan nodded "Don't mention it" he said grabbing the paperwork and standing up "Oh and Williams?" he added.

"Yeah" She replied.

"Thanks" he said and walked away, rubbing his eyes he made his way back to his cabin and got dressed after he got dressed he splashed water on his face looked in the mirror and put on his 'happy face' the face he made when he wanted to pretend nothing was bothering him.

Logan then made his way to see Liara knocking on her door "Come in" he heard the reply.

Logan walked into the room and saw Liara was doing some research, but couldn't see what, not that he really cared, he thought she would tell him if she found out anything

Liara quickly closed the window, she didn't want Logan to know that she was digging into his childhood, not that she had found much just that he was an orphan who never knew his parents and joined the Alliance under a biotic scholarship and was caught stealing a car at the time of his arrest, Liara knew there had to be more but couldn't find anything. That was when Shepard walked in "Hello Commander" she said hoping she didn't have to explain what she was looking at.

Lucky for her he didn't notice "You are looking much better, how you feeling?"

Liara smiled slightly "Thank you for asking Commander, you are kind to check up on me but you needn't worry" she told him.

Logan nodded "Good to hear" he said somewhat leaning against her desk "How are you fitting in? No body giving you a hard time?" he asked looking her in the eyes.

Liara shook her head "No everyone has been nice if not distant" she answered, wondering why he would stop in like this but she quickly dismissed it from what she had been told it was just his way, he would often talk to the crew.

Logan smiled "good to hear" he said before cracking his neck "Do you know hand to hand combat?" he asked suddenly.

Liara frowned "What? Umm no, I do not" Liara answered, wondering where this was going.

Logan smiled "Would you like to learn some?" he asked "I learned during the Blitz, that you can never rely on biotics alone" he told her "I like to run the crew though some drills from time to time, keep those skills sharp" he said before adding "And Kaidan and Ashley are complaining that I made them sick in the Mako, Garrus and Tali would be busy on the fixing the Mako" he explained "so that leaves just us"

Liara thought for a moment and then smiled "Sure sounds like fun" she answered, this could be interesting "Wait what about Wrex?" she asked.

Logan chuckled "Wrex doesn't need my help but I will see if he is interested" Logan said before looking Liara up and down "you might need to change your clothes, you will get too hot in those" he told her and turned to walk away "I'm going to go change, I will meet you down in the Cargo bay"

Liara took his advice and changed into a small top that humans called a singlet; she kept her long pants on and made her way to the cargo bay.

Logan was already down there wearing long pants and a singlet, Wrex was also there but standing back just watching.

"There you are, I was wondering if you were still coming down or not" Logan told her.

Liara smiled "Of course I have never done this before" she said looking nervous.

Logan smiled "Relax, I will start slow" he told her "now the martial art I am showing you is called ju-jitsu, it has been around for hundreds of years, it works by attacking your opponent's weakest points, their joints" he explained "now lucky for us, most races have similar skeletons, the only races this won't work on his elcor and the volus" he told her "they are just too thick and strong, must be from all that gravity as for the Volus their suits are too thick so don't even bother" he said smiling before he showed her some simple wrist and elbow locks "now don't be a hero if it hurts tap my leg or the floor like this" he said while tapping his leg three times with his hand "that will stop bones from being broken"

Liara listened intently, she could tell this would come in handy and didn't want to make a fool out of herself "Broken bones?" she asked.

Logan nodded "Yes" he said simply "if your enemy cannot use their hands they cannot shoot you and take it from me using biotics with broken limbs is a lot harder than you would think" he said before he realized she was an asari "well for you maybe not, but still why risk it" he said.

Liara and Logan continued to train, Liara was a very quick study so it was not long before he was able to really test what she had learnt, she was given the challenge of getting him to 'tap out' as he called it with no biotics, easier said than done. Liara found she was enjoying herself and also quickly realized that the Commander was a lot faster than she gave him credit for, with very little effort he ended up behind her and wrapped his powerful human arms around her neck, it was then she remembered one of the tricks he had shown her and quickly reversed it, using her asari flexibility in a way that would have been next to impossible for a human to do let alone one as large as he was.

Liara ended up on his shoulders after she climbed up the side of him, still with one of his arms under her control, well she thought it was, but Shepard shifted, knocking her off his shoulders, so that she landed back on her feet gracefully and before she could do anything else he gripped her shoulders and tripped her over, she hit the ground with a thud and Logan quickly put her into a hold he had shown her earlier called an 'arm bar' where she was forced to tap out.

Logan let her go straight away and helped her up "Well done, I knew asari were flexible but I didn't know you could do that!" he said smiling.

Liara panted but smiled all the same "Thank you Commander, I had an excellent teacher" she said smiling before she realized that everyone had stopped to watch the two spar, that was when Ashley spoke up.

"Can I try to do that Commander?" Ashley asked "I think I know where I can beat you" she said confidently.

Logan looked at Liara and bowed slightly before he shook her hand "You did really well" he told her before he walked over to Ashley and bowed to her slightly

Liara blushed at his compliment but stayed to watch the two, she hoped Ashley would not be able to beat him, since she felt that Ashley wanted to show off. Liara noticed Tali standing near her watching the Commander as well "If you ask him, he might teach you as well" she said smiling at the young quarian.

Tali looked up at her "you think so?" she asked "I know he is very busy"

Liara shook her head "I think he likes doing this" she said as she watched Logan and Ashley spar together, they seemed equally matched, well as far as Liara could tell.

Logan had gotten a hold of one of Ashley's arms and used that to control her "become entangled with a stronger opponent and you will die Williams" he told her as he got behind her and wrapped those arms around her neck, Liara realized it was the same move he had tried with her except Ashley did not have asari flexibility to help her and soon went bright red and was forced to tap out.

"Good job Williams but you seem distracted" Logan told Ashley as he helped her up "Next time focus"

Ashley coughed "Won't happen again" she said.

Liara noticed Ashley was glaring at her and that was when Liara realized that Ashley was trying to outdo her, which made Liara smile knowing that Ashley had failed to get out of that choke hold. Liara then noticed Tali was walking up to ask to for some pointers, Liara smiled thinking that it was nice of Shepard to take the time with his crew like this and teach them the skills that he had.

"I will show you what I know Tali on one condition" Shepard said with a slight smirk on his face.

Tali looked nervous at that "what is that?" she asked fiddling with her hands.

Shepard smiled "you have to show me some of that tech and hacking stuff" he said with a grin on his face.

Tali seemed to cheer up at that point "Sure Commander" she said.

Logan started slow, just like he did with Liara however he had to modify leg sweeps because of the way Tali's legs were bent. Tali seemed a lot more talented than first given credit for; in fact she almost got Logan in a chokehold of her own, before he reversed it.

"Now how good is that suit of yours?" he asked "I mean I'm not going to cause a suit rupture if I throw you am I?" he asked.

Tali chuckled "it can withstand gun shots, it will be fine" she said.

Logan nodded with a slight smile and said "good to know" before he grabbed her wrist and locked it behind her head and slowly and as gently as he could lowered her to the ground where she was forced to tap "you were good Tali" he told her "where did you learn that?" he asked.

Tali seemed proud of herself "On the Fleet, they teach us basic martial arts before we leave"

Logan nodded "well whatever it was it was effective, just remember not to lock your fingers together makes it easier to get out of"

Tali nodded "Thanks Shepard" she said and went over to stand near Garrus; Tali looked at Garrus and asked 'Are you going to have a go?"

Garrus shook his head "Nah, not right now, gotta get this done and besides Shepard has already fought three people"

That is when Wrex chuckled and cracked his neck and stepped forward "Wondering Shepard if ya little tricks would work on someone like me" he said with a smile.

Logan sighed and looked at Wrex "That depends; you're not going to go all blood-rage on me are you?"

Wrex chuckled and removed his armour "Me? Nah of course not" he said "tap the floor or your leg right?" he said as he stood there with a slight smirk on his face.

Logan cracked his neck and got ready, when the two of them charged at each other. The nearby crew had stopped what they were doing to stand and watch and some even placed bets.

Wrex used his strength to his advantage and threw Shepard as soon as he took a hold of him, Shepard quickly recovered and began to use his quickness and the two went at it again.

Liara watched as the human commander used speed not strength like he did with her, even so the two of them seemed evenly matched, Wrex for the most part unable to catch the human and Shepard seemed to not have enough strength to be truly effective and that is until Shepard grabbed his wrist and wrapped his legs under the shoulder joint of Wrex bending the arm at a painful angle at the elbow.

Wrex had to position himself so the pressure on his elbow was less but still there and smiled when he saw Shepard on the ground underneath him, the arm still locked up, so the human could still break it if he wanted to but now Wrex simply put a heavy foot onto the human's chest.

"Maybe we should stop there" Logan said looking up at Wrex "I know you won't tap, the only way I could beat you is to break your arm and I need you against Saren" Logan said before adding "and you will break ribs before I tap, so stalemate?" he asked Wrex who nodded and smirked and carefully let go at the same time as Shepard.

Wrex took a drink of water himself "You're good Shepard, good thing that was not a real fight" he said smirking.

Liara smiled and was pleased at the respect shown between two warriors with no injury done.

Logan sat down and helped himself to some water before he walked over towards Liara "Well Doctor did you learn anything?" he asked before having another drink of water.

Liara smiled "Yes thank you, I would like to do this again" she asked unable to stop herself from looking at his powerful arms.

Logan nodded "sure thing Doctor" he said with a smile on his face, he did not notice Liara staring at his arms.

"Call me Liara, Commander" she told him.

Logan nodded before he stood up "Call me Logan then Liara" he told her before he went for a shower.

Liara went back to her room and got back into her research, she continued looking at what she had found about his childhood. She read that he grew up on the streets after running away from an orphanage that was later closed down due to horrific child abuse, before she couldn't find a thing mentioned about him until he was arrested for stealing a car and he was now a member of a street gang called the 'Tenth Street Reds' who were by all reports she could find on them, vicious criminals.

Liara heard an alarm sound followed by Shepard's voice over the intercom "Garrus suit up" he said what Shepard said next though really caught her attention "Liara you are coming too" he said. Liara closed her extranet file and made sure she could find it again and quickly got ready, unsure of why Logan would want her, but she was determined to prove to him that she could be trusted.

Once she was down in the cargo bay where Garrus was waiting, she looked at Garrus who seemed eager to get going "Just glad I finished the repairs" he said to her, at that moment Shepard could be seen walking towards them.

"Ok, guys we have a problem in orbit of a human colony, an asteroid that was being towed closer to Terra Nova, when all communication went silent" he told them "humans have done this many times before without a problem and now there is one" Shepard said looking at them "we have to touch down on that rock and shut down the torches, if we don't that asteroid will hit Terra Nova" he told them before adding "there are millions of people down there, expect trouble"

Liara gasped "What do you think happened?" she asked.

Logan shook his head "Don't know, but I do know that there are safeguards in play, the only way something like this can happen is if someone wants it too" he said looking at Garrus "I bought you two along for two reasons, one when I report this to the Council having two council race members to back up my claims can't hurt"

Garrus nodded "And the other reason?"

Logan looked at them both but Liara felt this was aimed more at her "I want to see what you can do" he told them "Let's move" he yelled jumping into the Mako.

Liara and Garrus quickly followed him in "We won't let you down Commander" they both said at once.


	15. Bring down the sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan heads to asteroid X-57 to stop it from slamming into Terra Nova.

Liara quickly realized that Kaidan and Ashley were not lying about Shepard's driving skills, Liara was kind of worried as well as Kaidan had told her Logan treated the Mako like an amusement park ride, but right now he was silent and gritting his teeth the whole time.

The trip out of the cargo bay followed by a drop of several hundred feet before the anti-grav boosters kicked in was terrifying, and Liara almost screamed but was afraid that if she did she would lose control of her lunch, only thinking of trying to impress him and what would happen to Terra Nova stopped her vomiting inside her helmet.

Garrus on the other hand was fine for the trip out of the cargo bay; he knew what was coming after all. He was just glad to be off the ship and doing something that meant something.

"Whoever is receiving this message, you have to shut down the fusion torches" the woman's voice says, she sounds like she is hiding "they attacked the asteroid and put it on a collision course with Terra Nova, please shut off the torches" she signs off.

Garrus focusing on what he just heard "Whoever has done this, this is terrorism, dropping an asteroid on a garden world is seen as an act of war, the Council cannot ignore this" he said

Liara closed her eyes and tried to focus on something other than the Mako bouncing around and driving up almost vertical hills "We have to hurry, we only have four hours" she said, Liara was in shock that someone would be willing to kill millions; she knew that she had to help stop them.

Logan stopped the Mako near an engineer's shack where he quickly gets out and investigates quickly finding some equipment and a dead engineer. Shepard was still silent as he took the dog tags off and got back in the Mako before heading off towards the first torch.

Once they got closer, they got another call from the woman "You're heading in the right direction; I don't know who you are but I'm….damn it" she said and the line went dead

"Whoever did this was listening in" Logan said glancing at Garrus "Hope they didn't find her" he said more to himself

The two aliens stayed quiet, while the Commander wasn't driving like the Mako was amusement park ride, he was pushing it to its limits, it made for a bumpy ride.

As they approached the torch, six turrets emerged from the ground: one high on the cliff to the right, four around the fusion torch, and one far to the left of the fusion torch. Unlike turrets encountered in before on Therum, these only emerged from the ground when they got close to one of them, making their rockets much more difficult to dodge and largely eliminating the tactic of sniping them from a distance.

Logan worked carefully and focused on one turret at a time, and fired on the turrets out from a distance driving slowly backwards and forwards to avoid the rockets and using the boosters when needed. It was slow going but thankfully Garrus was just as good with the Mako's cannon as he said he was with a sniper rifle.

There were a lot of turrets though, although Logan tried to keep the amount of damage to a minimal, they still took a lot of fire.

"Come one baby hold together" Logan said almost willing the Mako, not to blow up

Jumping over the rockets that made their way towards them, taking heavy fire and the cabin of the Mako starting to fill with smoke but slowly but surely took out one turret at a time

After they had taken down all the turrets, they stopped for a moment; the Mako was spewing black smoke and had a few fires

"Garrus patch up the Mako for us" Logan ordered "Liara, help me put these fires out"

Once the Mako was repaired they made their way inside where Logan looked around and opened the door on the opposite end of the hallway.

As Logan rounded the corner he saw them "Batarians" he said with a snarl

Liara looked over to Shepard then and saw a different look on his face, one of pure malice, but she didn't have time to think about that when she heard.

"Harak, Chekz!, Chekz!" The batarian called out and two varren came running towards them

"Pull back" Shepard yelled as the varren closed in, taking aim with his shotgun he fired twice into the chest and face of one.

Garrus had started backing up and unloaded a dozen rounds into the other varren which kept coming.

Liara knew how tough varren were so she threw the both of them and with a splat they hit the wall, while Garrus and Logan made sure they stayed down. Liara went to move out into the next room before Logan moved next to Liara and gently pushed her back against the wall before holding up a hand to her telling her to wait.

"Release the varren!"

Logan peeked around the corner and fired a shot off at the end of the other room which set off an explosion before looked at Liara and told her "Take care of the varren, don't let them get close" he said.

"Garrus, switch to sniper rifle" he ordered "teach that sniper of theirs how it is done" Logan said.

Garrus planted himself against the wall and switched from his assault rifle to his sniper rifle "With pleasure" he replied "cover me" he said

Logan noticed one varren getting closer so he threw it backwards, while Liara did the same to the other one. Once the varren hit the ground Liara fired off dozens of shots into their prone bodies.

Logan then looked at Liara and said "You're with me, we go side by side" he told her "we do everything together from now on" he said before moving ready to go

Liara nodded "I'll follow you" she said as she killed one varren with a singularity and took aim at the other as Logan began to move into the room, where Logan fired a blast at the remaining varren killing it while it floated helplessly in the air.

Logan and Liara moved out into the next room and just like Shepard told her to do stayed close to Shepard's hip as she threw two pirates back, before aiming her pistol at another, as she fired she noticed that the pirate was also hit with a shotgun blast.

"Good job" he told her as he used his biotics to lift a pirate and shoot him with his shotgun.

"Sniper down" Garrus called out.

Logan and Liara made short work of the remaining troopers and Logan called out "All clear" as he used medi-gel to deal with a few shots that got though "everyone ok?" he asked.

Liara and Garrus both answered that they were fine.

Once they had cleared all the batarians out, Logan and the two aliens moved headed up stairs and though the door where he found find the controls to shut down the fusion torch station. Once it shut down, they got another call over the radio from that woman again.

"I'm reading that one of the torches is offline" The woman said "was that you?" she asked.

Logan looked at Garrus and Liara to make sure they could hear it too "Yes that was us, what's going on? Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Kate Bowman, I'm an engineer, I was part of the team assigned to bring the asteroid to Terra Nova" Kate said, Logan could hear the fear in her voice "we were attacked yesterday by batarian extremists, I have been hiding from them since they arrived" Kate told him, Logan while listening took out a drink, Garrus and Liara took the opportunity to do the same "I think they know the torch went out"

"Why are they doing this?" Logan asked putting his water back on his belt.

"I don't know. But if this asteroid isn't slowed millions of people on Terra Nova will die" Kate said fearfully "If I find out anything I'll let you know, I…I have to go, Good luck" she said and signed off.

"Well that answers a lot" Logan said looking at Garrus and Liara

Garrus spoke up at that point "I can't believe the Hegemony would do something like this" he said "it has to be extremists not the government themselves"

Logan looked at him "Why not?" he asked "batarians hate humans and have been looking for a reason for a long time now, maybe they got sick of playing around with proxy wars" he said to the turian.

As they walked back down, Liara answered Logan's question "because if they did the Council would see it as an act of war, something like this? Crashing an asteroid into a garden world, would make every Council race sit up and take notice" Liara said looking at Logan.

Garrus nodded "Turians might not get along with humans but something like this would remind them of the krogan rebellions"

Logan cracked his neck as he walked past all the dead batarians and came close to where they first entered when Logan saw a man standing there with a gun looking around.

"Hey" Logan said to him.

The man snapped his head round and fired without looking; Logan's shields flared up as a round bounced off, Logan had his gun out into his hands in second

"Oh god, I didn't mean to..., Are you hurt?" the man asked

"What the hell are you thinking?" Logan snapped as he lowered the gun

"Sorry I thought you were one of them" the man answered "guess I'm not much of a soldier"

Logan sighed "I'll give you a hint two eyes human, four eyes batarian" Logan said angrily.

"I'll keep that in mind" The man replied.

"Well you might not be a soldier but I am" Logan said putting his pistol away 'I'm Commander Shepard, with the Alliance and for that matter the Council" Logan said before adding "I'm a Spectre"

"Simon, Simon Arwell, I'm the Chief engineer on this rock" he said offering his hand to Shepard who shook it "Listen...We don't have much time, the batarians fired up the fusion torches you have got to shut them down before we hit Terra Nova" Simon said as he looked at Garrus and Liara behind Shepard "There are four million people down the Shepard, I..My family they live in Aronax, my kids and grandkids. Nice community. Good schools"

"Well batarians everywhere and I need to shut down the torches. Anything else I should know?" Logan asked.

"One of the torches is surrounded by live blasting caps, we were set up to excavate when we arrived at Terra Nova. I rigged them with proximity detectors" Simon explained "That tank of your will set them off for sure, so you will have to go in on foot, even then you could still set them off if you get to close. So just go slow and easy and you should be fine"

Logan sighed "Can I requisition a cow to walk in front of me?" Logan joked.

Simon laughed and shook his head "Sorry but I can't shut them off from here either" Simon said before adding "There are manual controls by the entrance to the torch facility, inside the blast zone. You can disable the caps there" Simon explained and quickly held up a hand "One last thing I had a crew working outside when the attack hit, I'm worried about them" Simon said looking as if he was remembering something disturbing "These batarians are ruthless I saw them smash the faceplates of guys working vacuum. And those varren, I don't think they wait for a corpse before eating"

Logan nodded "At least one of them is dead, I'll keep a look out for the rest, but the torches are my priority" Logan said handing over a dog tag "And Kate Bowman has been talking to us over the comms"

Simon took the tag and slowly nodded "Yeah saving Terra Nova is more important than saving my team and thank you" he said before adding "There was a group of engineers over at the main facility, but they are probably all dead. That or being held hostage by the batarians" Simon said before adding "I glad Kate is ok, she's one of my best engineers; her and her brother Aaron signed up together, I hope she won't do anything stupid"

"Time is running short, I should get going" Logan said.

Simon nodded "Yeah, I should make myself scarce in case any batarians come back, good luck Shepard"

Logan walked away and headed back outside he waited for Liara and Garrus to get into the Mako before heading off, Logan was silent the whole time, Liara could tell he was in a foul mood, Garrus didn't seem to notice but seemed a little more serious...if that was even possible. Liara and Garrus however both had the same problem, Shepard's driving. While Liara was glad he wasn't driving like it was amusement park ride instead he was driving the Mako as if it had wronged him somehow, Liara looked over at Garrus and noticed that he was not enjoying the ride either.

"Can you hear me?" Kate voice sounded though their comms "I'm getting all kinds of interference" she said as feedback could clearly be heard "Damn this thing. Sorry there is a lot of feedback"

Logan shook his head "Yeah no kidding" he said and quickly put a finger into his ear and tried to clean his ear out.

"I'll try and fix it. In the meantime, just keep doing what you are doing" Kate told them.

Logan looked at Garrus "Don't you just love it when people tell you something you clearly already know?" he asked not really expecting an answer.

The sights of the torch station surrounded by those blasting caps quickly came into view.

Garrus just chuckled and looked out the scope "We have turrets" he said and took aim while the Normandy VI told them proceed on foot. The Mako jumped a rocket and as it landed Garrus fired on the turret and quickly ripped through its shields, destroying it. Logan then drove closer to another one and started to fire the machine guns at it while Garrus worked the main cannon. After all the turrets were down, Logan drove to where he could see where they could enter the station and ordered them out of the tank and started walking slowly towards it.

"Watch your step guys" Logan warned "Nice and easy"

As they got closer batarians came out to greet them and opened fire on them "Garrus sniper rifle now" Logan called out "Liara open them up with biotics" he ordered.

The whole time they were getting shot at the proximity sensor kept telling them every time they got too close. A rocket flew past Logan "They have rockets" he called out as they made their way across; Logan even managed to throw one batarian into a blasting cap.

Garrus used his sniper rifle with deadly effect, while Liara threw biotics at them seemingly every few seconds, before they were finally close enough to the station they didn't have to worry about the blasting caps, the last remaining batarian was shot in the back as he tried to run away, Logan calmly walked up behind the batarian and removed his mask while Liara and Garrus to caught up before he looked at them. Liara couldn't help herself she looked at the batarian trying to breathe in the cold vacuum of space before she snapped out of it and looked at Logan.

"Right same deal as before, Garrus if there is a sniper take him out first otherwise you're with us" Logan ordered, Garrus only nodded before all three made their way inside.

Inside was a similar layout to the previous torch station, except this time there were rocket drones and a engineer. Logan stood beside the door and threw a grenade in, once it exploded Logan moved in, using his biotics on the nearest batarian. The three of them worked closely together while dodging rockets, Garrus was focusing on the rocket drones but every time he destroyed one another replaced it. One rocket landed near Liara the blast taking down her shields, she could feel the heat on her skin but a moment later Logan had moved her out of harm's way before next rocket landed right where she was just a moment before.

"You ok?" he asked to which she nodded.

Liara came back around and hit three batarians with a singularity lifting them up and shot them while they were suspended helplessly in the air, While Logan finished off two batarians with a combination of biotics and close range shotgun blasts. All three of them then focused on the remaining rocket drones, which a few moments later were all dead.

Logan moved near Liara "Hold on" he said, as she waited she could feel a slight cooling sensation on her back before she could ask what it was he told her "Medi-gel" he said with a smile "Congrats Dr T'soni, you have your first war wound" he said smiling slightly "You are a lot tougher than you look" She looked at him and noticed he had a slight cut above his eye with that strange bright red blood humans had.

"You're bleeding!" Liara exclaimed to which Logan just waved her off.

"I'm fine" he said "just a scratch" he told her as he walked over to Garrus "Any wounds?" he asked looking Garrus over.

Garrus lifted his arm up to reveal a burn from a rocket on his ribs, or where his ribs would have been if he weren't a turian "Just that" he said while trying to place his own medi-gel on it.

Logan shook his head "Relax" he said and helped Garrus with the medi-gel since Garrus couldn't reach it without being in pain "good job guys" he said once finished "let's shut this torch off"

Logan looked at his squad and was pleased with the way they were handling themselves, he never thought Liara would be so powerful with her biotics and as for Garrus, Logan hadn't seen anyone shoot so well. He was still thinking about this and their chances against the batarians in the main facility while shutting down the torch and the blasting caps when Kate started talking again.

"Are you there? You have got to hurry, you have really pissed them off" she said sounding slightly panicked "Their leader's setting charges everywhere. I think he is going to blow up the whole facility"

Logan could hear another voice suddenly in the background "Get away from that human" Logan took out his energy drink that the Alliance gave to all biotics so they could keep their energy levels up before he offered one to Liara who only frowned at it.

"It's for energy, biotics are given it" he told her handing it to her.

Kate could still be heard, she was now begging for the batarian not to shoot her, when another voice could be heard.

'Who is shutting down the torches?" the batarian asked.

Logan looked at Garrus "Must be the leader" he said to which Garrus nodded agreeing with him.

"I won't ask you again" the leader warned and a moment later Logan could hear a gunshot followed by "Find the problem and deal with it"

Logan turned to look at the others "Ok we have incoming let's go introduce ourselves" Logan said.

"Get her out of here" The leader could be heard over the comms.

"They must of shot someone else" Garrus said while following Logan and Liara.

Once back outside they headed back to the Mako, Logan was clearly angry but didn't say a word as he drove towards the third torch station.

"I'm proud of you guys" he said suddenly "We just keep doing what we have been doing and we will stop these assholes" he told them

Garrus nodded "Thank you sir"

Liara studied him for a moment before answering "Thank you Commander, but are you alright?"

Logan chuckled a little at that "I'm fine Liara. Anytime you think I am being too harsh to these batarians I want you imagine Terra Nova is an asari colony" he told her

Liara realized he must of noticed her staring at that batarian that Shepard removed the helmet off "I understand, Shepard. I don't have to like it but I understand" she said quietly

Logan looked at her while the Mako went over another incline "Good" he said before adding "If you did like it that would make you a psychopath" he said smiling "I do this so no one else has too" he explained

Liara nodded and thought about what he said and realized he was right. Asari would be just as vicious to any race that was doing something like this, but she was glad to hear that he didn't enjoy doing it "If you don't mind me asking, if you don't enjoy doing it then why do it?' she asked.

Logan chuckled as the Mako went over another hill "We humans have a saying _'an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life'_ do you understand Liara?"

Liara thought about it before nodding "You removed his helmet because batarians had done that to the people working here" she said

Logan nodded "That's right, the punishment must fit the crime" he said looking over at Garrus who was just listening.

They approached the third and final fusion torch station and were once again under fire by turrets. Logan fired with the machine gun on one turret while Garrus fired the cannon, as two rockets hit the Mako, Logan threw the Mako in reverse and kept firing. Jumping two more rockets, did his best to avoid the rocket fire, but there was too many rockets incoming so not all of them could be avoided. Garrus made short work of one turret and lined up another. It didn't take long before the Mako was filling with smoke again, Logan even drove away a short distance and the three of them patched up the Mako as best as the could before driving back in.

It was hard work but the turrets were finally taken care of . Logan jumped out of the Mako and headed towards the door "expect heavy resistance" he warned them as their made their way inside.

This station was different from the previous two, it seemed to be a U shape. Logan slowly and carefully made his way through when he saw three troopers standing there waiting for them and of course a varren. Once they opened fire Logan could hear "Release the varren!" being called out and another varren joined the fray. Garrus had overheated the weapon of one batarian, who was quickly thrown backwards by biotics by either Logan or Liara he couldn't see who didn't matter at this point, before he turned his attention towards another batarian and overloaded his shields and once the batarian shields were down he shot him in the face with his assault rifle quickly dropping him. Garrus then focused back onto the first batarian that was thrown and made sure he stayed down. Garrus knew that working with two biotics all he really had to do was take care of the ones that were lifted into the air or thrown, one trooper was lifted into the air at that point as if to prove what he was just thinking about. Garrus almost felt guilty about having such an easy target as he shot the trooper half a dozen times.

Liara helped Logan deal with the two varren by hitting them with a singularity. Liara also killed another batarian with the help of Garrus. Liara hit another with a warp field who was then taken care of by Garrus and Logan, before she was hit with a biotic field herself and went flying backwards into Logan who caught her knocking them both towards the ground, Liara opened her eyes and saw Logan underneath her with a pained expression on his face.

Garrus overloaded the weapon of the batarian shock trooper before dropping his shields. Garrus had shot the batarian with a dozen rounds but kept on coming. The batarian was close now so Garrus used the butt of his rifle to smash the batarians face in knocking him to the ground where he finished him off.

"As much as I like being this close to you" Logan said looking up at her, she smiled thinking what he could be trying to tell her "You're crushing my balls" he told her.

Liara quickly hopped off apologizing, hoping the human male wasn't hurt that much. Liara had heard how much it hurts males of other species, something about bundles of nerve endings that are very sensitive. She shook her head to get the image of what they would feel like out of her head and asked "Are you ok Commander, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to I.."

Logan slowly stood up hunched over "It's ok it happens" he told her while holding his groin, Liara noticed this and vowed to look at human male anatomy later. Logan stood up slowly and asked her if she had any new wounds she didn't and thought to ask Garrus if he was injured who shook his head.

"Come on, let's get this torch turned off" he told them as he walked off his pain. They headed upstairs and shut off the torch while they were heading back though Shepard saw a group of batarians casually waiting for them downstairs, almost as if they wanted to talk. Logan frowned before he turned to Garrus "Stay here, get your sniper rifle out and wait for my signal" he said.

"What is your signal?" Garrus asked as Logan and Liara walked away.

"You will know it when you see it" Logan answered.

Garrus just sighed "I get the feeling I will know when I see it"

On their way down Logan quietly said to Liara "Let me do the talking and be ready to make a move" he told her before walking out into the open where he could see twelve batarians and six varren waiting for them "What do you want?" Logan snapped "I assume you want to talk or you would have been shooting already"

One batarian stepped forward "Relax human I just want to talk. See if we can work out a peaceful solution" he said "I'm Charn and I know who you are, Commander Shepard"

Logan relaxed and reached into his pockets, the batarians got nervous "Relax" he said taking out a packet of cigarettes he shook a loose one out and placed it in his mouth before offering the packet to the batarians were very slowly moved forward and took the packet. Human cigarettes were preferred by batarians over their own something Logan never knew why, they just were.

Logan watched as they took turns in lighting up while he listened to Charn "This was just meant to be a simple slave grab but Balak is out of control. He hates humans, all this was his idea" Charn told him as the lighter came back to him "Balak is on a mission to destroy Terra Nova, and you're in the way Commander" Charn told him while lighting his cigarette and offering Logan the lighter.

Logan nodded and stepped closer, he was within arm's reach of Charn now, before taking the lighter "And you don't want that?" Logan asked having a quick look at the lighter

"Of course not, but Balak wants you dead" Charn told him "that's why he sent us, I am sick of his little crusade" Charn said while blowing out smoke.

Logan nodded and put the lighter into his pocket and flicked the smoke away without lighting it "Thanks for the info" he said and in one quick movement had punched Charn in the throat before grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him around, using him as a shield. Logan threw a grenade into the middle of the group of them dropping the shields of four of the batarians.

That was when Garrus had opened fire sniping two targets before they had begun to move, while Garrus was shocked at the speed in which the attack took place, he almost never saw it coming and he knew it was going to happen.

Garrus had to be impressed with the way the human Spectre had managed to get them to lower their guards just before the attack and then used their numbers to his advantage, holding Charn close he moved in closer before he threw Charn into the group of them and using knife combat and powerful biotics Logan had managed to kill four of them in seconds. The batarians shields could not defend against a knife welding opponent and their armour couldn't protect their faces. Logan's blade was then hurled with biotics into a varren which got too close, slowing it down. Logan then used his biotics to throw back two shock troops and finally pulled out his shotgun and opened fire, killing the varren with his knife sticking out of it first then focused on the two shock troops.

Garrus focused on the sniper they had bought with them, overheating his weapon and shooting him while he tried to get it working again. Garrus dropped the shields of the two shock troopers Logan was taking on, before turning his attention back to the sniper who Garrus had managed to keep pinned down.

Liara had already joined in at this stage, while she like Garrus was surprised at the method the Spectre used she quickly caught on. Firing a singularity into the group of varren once she saw Logan moving, she caught five of them in the field. Liara then aimed at the engineer they had and lifted him up as well, where she shot the varren and the engineer at her leisure, killing two varren. Liara was forced to boost her shields again, after which she shot the engineer four times while he was floating.

Logan was thrown backwards and as he slid across the floor he threw a grenade at the two shock troops sending one of them right into Liara's singularity field which soon shut off dropping all the three varren and the shock trooper to the floor. Garrus finally caught the sniper with his shields down and blew his head off, then turned his rifle scope onto the varren which were running towards Liara at that point.

Liara threw one varren back, watched another's head disappear from rifle fire, leaving one varren which tackled her to the ground and went to bite her face. Liara tried pushing the varren away but it was to strong that was when she saw a knife stab it in the back of the head and twist. Logan pushed the varren off her and helped her up, the two of them opened fire on the remaining varren then while Logan threw the engineer into the wall with biotics, where he didn't get up.

After that it was short work finishing the rest of them off. Logan walked up to Charn, who had choked to death. After searching them, Logan took back the packet of cigarettes and placed them into his pocket, he noticed Liara was staring at him "What? I don't smoke these" he told her with a smile.

Liara frowned for a moment, before she smiled "You mean you only carry them around so you can get close to your enemies?" she asked before adding "Clever"

Garrus at that point had walked up alongside them "Everyone ok?" he said looking over his teammates. Garrus helped patch them up, a gunshot on Shepard and a few bruises as well a cut on his head that had opened up but he was fine. Garrus then checked over Liara who was a little worse for wear but still in one piece. Liara had a grazing gunshot as well as deep scratches from the varren on her legs and chest and what looked like to be a broken rib.

"Need medi-gel over here" Garrus said as Logan walked over and sat down near Liara.

"Just relax, Liara this won't take long to fix" Logan said before looking up at Garrus "keep an eye out will you, make sure no one sneaks up on us"

Garrus nodded and moved closer to the door to the station. Logan had patched up Liara's wounds on her legs and her a grazing gun shot and then squirted some medi-gel onto her chest and took care of those wounds as well. Liara was surprised at how gentle he was, considering what she just saw him do.

Logan stood up and helped Liara up "Those should hold until we get back, then Dr Chakwas can look at them, I can't do much about the rib sorry" he told her.

Liara smiled softly "I can manage Commander" as they walked over to Garrus.

"Let's go say hi to Balak" Logan said with a slight chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok now this has been caught up to date with the same story over on FF, so updates will be a bit slower after this. But I do feel the story is better edited here so hope you enjoy.


	16. When a Doctor meets a Butcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara realizes just who Logan Shepard is and how he earned the name The Butcher. Liara also does some research on human-asari sex.

As the three of them exited the building Logan decided that they would make a quick search for the missing engineers, when Garrus asked why they were looking for them instead of going after Balak, Logan grinned manically.

“Because Balak knows he can’t leave just yet, the Normandy would shoot him out of the sky, and he knows that we are coming but not when. So I am going to let him wait and sweat a bit, before I kill him” Logan told the turian “Besides, I want to find out what happened to them”

Garrus seemed happy with that answer, but not with the driving. Logan had insisted on driving up a near vertical incline, once at the top Logan had insisted on jumping down the mountain claiming ‘it was quicker’. It reminded Liara of when they came out of the Normandy, as the other side of the mountain was a drop at least a hundred feet down. As they were free falling down the mountain with the anti-grav boosters switching on and off at Shepard’s command, Liara could feel a little sick, she looked over at Garrus and noticed he looked like she felt.

“That shack I found before? Had an engineer named Mendel” Logan told them as once again he was speeding across the asteroid, Liara was just happy they were driving in a straight line and on a flat surface “He had surrendered, they shot him anyway” he said looking at Garrus who shook his head

“This was never a slave grab” Garrus replied

Logan pointed to something and stopped the Mako “Look at that” as all three of them got out. A large human vehicle could be seen, it was destroyed “M-29 Grizzly” Logan told them before he pointed to a dead body nearby “Poor bastard, escaped the Grizzly only to be shot afterwards”

Liara was beginning to understand why Shepard or humans in general did not like batarians; these humans were executed for no reason then hatred. Still Liara was surprised that the same charming man she saw on the Normandy was this sadistic to his enemies. Although he was cruel he seemed to follow a code of sorts, this code of his would never be used by the Justicar Order, Liara knew that but it was code none the less.

“Garrus have a look around see if you can find anything” Logan ordered

Garrus had found a tech kit and quickly made his way back to the Mako. Once they had found the other engineers one of which tried to hide inside a shack before the batarians planted a bomb to the door and she died in the blast, another engineer had managed to arm combat drones to try and help before running off. After Logan and the others took care of the drones the followed the footprints and found him shot in the back by a sniper.

Garrus looked around at this point “Poor bastard had nowhere to hide either”

Logan ordered them back into the Mako and headed to confront Balak. Once they neared the main facility, more turrets opened fire on them some of these were on tracks. Logan decided to drive around at a moderate pace while he did that he looked at Garrus

“Just timing Garrus, when we pass one fire” Logan ordered

Sure enough the tactic worked, none of the turrets could hit them and after taking out the stationary turrets that then took out the ones on the tracks.

Logan got out of the Mako checked his shotgun “This will get bloody” he told them “we stick together and work as a team”

Garrus and Liara both nodded and got their own weapons ready and once ready they all headed inside. Logan looked around picking up more medi-gel and grenades, before heading into the main room. Logan slowly made his way into the building when his shields flared from a round hitting it, returning fire and headed towards the second level Garrus and Liara following him while the defense drones followed them. Liara threw a singularity at the batarians keeping them back for a moment while Garrus dropped the shields of the drones.

“We need cover” Garrus called out as his shields deflected a number of rounds

Logan led them to the medical building which seemed to have good cover and a low ceiling stopping the drones from flying in “Take cover” he ordered, firing his shotgun at one drone.

Liara and Logan covered Garrus as he ran to cover, his shields were almost gone. Once in cover he leaned out and hit the two drones with sabotage “I got you covered” he told them as the first of the batarians made their way up the stairs after them

Logan and Liara both ran to cover, their shields were taking a pounding, but once they were in cover, they really let loose. “Liara, target those engineers” Logan ordered as he fired his shot gun downing one drone “Garrus, hit those shock troops with damping” he called out. Logan was glad they didn’t ask questions, they did what he had asked.

While Logan focused on taking the last drone down he could see the batarians trying to find cover with little luck. Logan threw two troopers back down the stairs from where they came, while saw one shock trooper go down bleeding from multiple wounds that was when he noticed Garrus thrown backwards by biotics by the remaining shock trooper. He hit the wall hard.

“Garrus” Logan called out before turning to Liara “Singularity now” he told her while he dragged Garrus back into cover “you ok?” he asked to which Garrus nodded.

“Just a scratch” Garrus said, blue blood on his hands.

Logan applied Medi-gel directly into the suit of Garrus, before making his way back over to Liara. A few seconds later Garrus rejoined them. The engineers had hit Liara with a damping, effectively shutting down her biotics. Logan answers this with biotics of his own throwing them backwards, while Garrus dropped the shields of two of the troopers before Logan finished them off with well-placed shotgun blasts.

Liara was firing her pistol at the last shook trooper before she felt power come back into her biotic amp, she smiled and threw a warp at them, which shredded the insides of the batarian.

“Garrus, sniper time” Logan told him and at once, noticed Garrus switch to his sniper rifle. While Garrus was no slouch with his assault rifle, Logan knew the turian was a master with a sniper rifle, even in small confined spaces such as this. Logan then fired his shot gun dropped the shields of a batarian.

Garrus took aim and blew the head off a batarian that Logan had just dropped the shields of. Taking aim yet again, this time he focused on an engineer, first dropping the batarians shields with an overload then taking his head off. Garrus noticed Liara being pinned down by two troopers so he overheated their weapons leaving them open for Liara to throw them backwards, where they hit the wall with a wet smack and stayed there.

Logan had moved to the other end of the medical building to try and stop them from being flanked. He took a rifle round to the leg and went down but managed to lift his shotgun up and blast one trooper in the head while he noticed the other one ran to cover, quickly getting back behind cover he switched to his pistol “need help over here” he told his squad, while trying to blind fire around cover and place medi-gel on at the same time. Thankfully Liara was near him by then and covered him while he applied medi-gel to his leg.

Garrus was on the other side of the building, he hit the two shock troops with an Overload dropping their shields before using a Damping attack on them “Fuck it” he said as he hit them again with a sabotage over heating their weapons, after all that two quick headshots later and they were down.

Liara had managed to drop the shields of the last trooper when Logan got back up again, and fired twice from that shotgun of his catching the trooper in the hand where he dropped his rifle. Liara finished him off quickly. Looking around she couldn’t see the engineer.

“I lost one” she called out

“He ran past me” Garrus called out “I know where he went though”

Logan made his way over to Garrus “Lead the way” he said

Garrus lead them to the far end of the area where they could see the engineer trying to apply medi-gel to wounds on his stomach. One shotgun blast later and he was dead. As the dead batarian slid down he nudged the button for the door opening it revealing a seventh and final batarian trooper. He stammered out "Die Shepard!" but was quickly gunned down by all three of them. Once Logan checked around finding some items of value he went back out.

“You humans, you are almost more trouble than your worth” A batarian said, he was on top of a set of stairs with at least one other batarian beside him and of course a varren

Logan looked up at him, _this must be Balak_ he thought to himself “Let the hostages go and I will kill you quickly” he warned

The batarian scoffed “I don’t answer to you or the Council” he said while pacing back and forth “I am leaving this asteroid. If you try and stop me, I will detonate these charges and your little helper and all of her friends are all going to die”

Logan shook his head “Can’t do that Balak” he said simply “Not after what happened here”

Balak didn’t like the sound of that “This is nothing. You humans have done far worse to the batarians” he yelled “We have been forced into exile. Forced to survive on whatever we can scrounge up. It’s been like that for decades” Balak ranted

Logan shook his head “It’s your own fault. The Council sided with us. Maybe if you weren’t taking slaves and attacking them, maybe they would have backed you” Logan snarled “But no you took slaves then expected the people you were taking as slaves to back you up against us?” Logan mocked “You batarians were always causing problems. The asari colony of Esan that the batarians annexed” Logan said drawing surprised looks from both Garrus and Liara “Or how about the salarian colony world that batarians bombed Mannovai? Then there was the conflict on Enael” Logan recounted “So then you turned your back on the Council when you couldn’t get your own way. What did you honestly think was going to happen?”

Balak was clearly getting upset “We didn’t pull away. We were forced out and don’t try and hide behind the Council” Balak all but screamed “And don’t you think of giving me a history lesson” he snapped “It was you and your kind that we’re in this position”

Logan rolled his eyes “So now you are trying to kill innocent people?”

Balak seemed to get even more upset “We had no other options. Sometimes you need to get someone’s attention before they will listen” Balak said before adding “How many innocent batarians did you murder?” He asked “You burned batarians alive! Buried them under Torfan” Balak accused “That’s why I’m doing this. You forced our hand”

“I gave them a chance to surrender. They refused” Logan snarled back “They were slaver’s and scum that killed innocent people, so I did the only thing that should be done against people like that, I killed them” Logan yelled, the hatred in his voice could be heard clearly “You attacked us first, we retaliated, so you went running to the Council for help, when you didn’t get it, you hid. You bought this on yourselves. You will get no sympathy from me”

Balak finally snapped “Enough!” he said before pacing back and forth “You couldn’t possibly understand…Actually you don’t want to understand. And I am done wasting my breath” he said before taking a deep breath almost as if he was trying to calm back down “If you want your friends to live. I suggest you step aside” he threated

Liara and Garrus had watched the whole exchange, they were surprised that Shepard knew history well enough from before humans were even a space fairing species but all of that didn’t matter now. Garrus knew that Balak should not be allowed to walk free but didn’t know how the human Spectre would handle this situation.

“I can’t allow that Balak” Logan said shaking his head

“I hope it was worth it” Balak mocked as he detonated the bomb, killing the hostages ‘I am going to enjoy gutting you”. His varren ran down the stairs and towards them.

“Back up” Logan ordered as he blasted one varren with his shotgun and hit the other with a biotic throw. Just as his shotgun was overheated “Shit” he swore while switching to his pistol.

Garrus hit one of the defense drones with sabotage and the other with an overload. Backing up made his way with Logan and Liara and down the stairs when he saw one varren close to Logan while he was shooting it with a pistol, thinking his shotgun must of overheated, Garrus shot the varren six times with his assault rifle while Logan continued to shoot as well, finally it dropped to the ground dead. The defense drones had managed to drop the shields of Garrus and as one round slammed into Garrus dropping him to the ground with a wound to his hip  

Liara had thrown a singularity towards Balak and his two bodyguards but Balak had managed to get out of the way in time. Liara then noticed the defense drones bearing down on Garrus, who was on the ground trying to apply medi-gel to a wound on his hip; she opened fire on them, getting their attention away from Garrus. Shooting at the defense drones had made her a target though and she had to quickly get behind cover. That was when she noticed the two bodyguards coming around trying to flank her. Running out into the open to get to new cover she was shot at a few times by the drones, until one of them dropped from the sky with a loud crash, she looked around and saw Garrus aiming at the other drone and with a quick few shots he had downed that one as well. Liara took that opportunity to lift the two bodyguards up with biotics so she could shoot them with greater ease, when she felt the biotic field start to wear off, Liara threw them both backwards. One of the bodyguards did not get back up again.

Logan had managed to get his shotgun working again and just in time too as the remaining varren was almost on top of him, two quick blasts from his shotgun followed by a throw and the varren was dead. Logan didn’t have time to think as he was shot at by Balak. The batarian leader was keeping his distance and used a sniper rifle. Logan had to admit he was good, if Logan’s barriers didn’t hold up under the first shot he would have been dead. Making his way slowly towards Balak, Logan had to use more cover than he wanted to but boosted his shields and kept moving closer.

Garrus had turned his attention towards Liara, once the defense drones were taken care of and the two bodyguards which Liara quickly made sure become one. The two of them opened fire on the remaining bodyguard and soon enough he was dead too.

Logan had finally gotten close enough to Balak to use his biotics on him lifting him up from cover the batarian was hiding behind and shot the batarian leader twice before the field let him drop back to the floor. Balak was tougher than most though as he scrambled back behind cover and fired again at Logan this time the shot went through his shields and his left shoulder.

Garrus and Liara quickly flanked Balak and both of them working together, ripped through his shields. Balak dropped his gun and lay there bleeding and cursing them. Garrus kept his gun trained on him and kicked batarian’s rifle away from him. At this point Logan made his way over to them. Holding his shoulder the wound didn’t appear to be too bad, although all of them would need to see Chakwas after this, but they were alive.

Logan looked down at Balak and booted him in the face “Some dumb fucker is always trying to ice skate uphill” he mocked.

Balak grunted before looking up at Logan “You human’s think you’re so superior” he said coughing up blood “But you’re not better than us. I gave you a chance to save them and you threw it away” He said coughing again “Who is the real terrorist here?”

Logan pulled out his pistol and fired it, the round hit the wall right beside his head.

Balak only laughed “You will have to do better than that to stop us” he said coughing again and looking at his hands that were covered in blood “One day soon, the human race is going to pay for what it is done”

Logan looked at him before his body glowed blue with biotics and he lifted him up. Using his other hand Logan made a twisting motion, when he did Balak’s right knee bent sideways with a sickening snap.

Balak screamed in pain as he floated there helplessly “Damn it” he grunted “You think killing me will make a difference” he said through gritted teeth “The batarians have stayed hidden long enough. We won’t be ignored. Not anymore” Balak ranted, since he was floating there though his wounds had opened and were bleeding pretty bad “There are thousands more like me, waiting their turn. Each one willing to die for our cause”

Logan made another twisting motion with his hand this time Balak’s left elbow bent sideways. The crunch made Liara feel slightly queasy, she looked away and noticed that Garrus didn’t seem fazed by the rough treatment.

Balak screamed in pain yet again “What? What do you want?” Balak screamed before he started to cough up blood again “When the vids show images of your colonies in flames, you’ll know the batarian rebellion has begun”

Logan raised his eyebrows at that “Really? Who is the leader behind this? Who is orchestrating this?” he asked.

Balak coughed again “I’m done talking” he said coughing again blood was slowly dripping to the floor from his mouth “Just kill me and get it over with”

Logan let him fall back to the ground hard, Balak screamed as he hit the ground. The broken bones and internal injuries made the landing painful for the batarian.

“You can die” Logan said looking at him with no hint of mercy in his eyes “slowly” Logan added as he turned and walked away

“This isn’t over” Balak screamed out after him before breaking into a coughing fit “This is just the beginning of the batarian nation.

Logan walked towards the exit and saw Simon standing there

“Is it safe?” Simon asked.

“As safe as it gets” Logan said sighing “There were bombs and there may be more. I’ll need a sweeper team to clear the area”

Simon nodded “Right I’ll be careful then” before he too breathed a sigh of relief “You did it. Another hour and our course would have been irreversible” Simon said looking at the three of them “I ran the number X-57 would have struck near the capital city. The most densely populated region” Simon told them before adding “Not that will happen now thanks to you. Now did you find Kate and her team?” he asked

Logan shook his head “I’m sorry but they are dead, Balak took Kate and some of the others hostage. There was a bomb in their cell and..”

Simon looked down at his feet “You’re…you’re not kidding are you? Oh god” he said upset “What happened I thought…I thought you were going to help them” Simon said, his anger and pain could be heard in his voice

Logan looked up at him “Look in case you haven’t noticed yet but there is a big bad galaxy out there, and a lot of aliens don’t like us very much. Some aliens will kill humans whenever they get a chance too Balak was one of them. You’re lucky I was passing a comm buoy at the time and picked up the signal, otherwise no one would have made here in time” Logan told him slightly calming down “They came here to wipe out Terra Nova. They failed. Sadly this is real life, not the vids sometimes not everyone makes it out alive. But Terra Nova is safe and I couldn’t of done it without Kate’s help” Logan told him “She died a hero”

Simon sighed, clearly trying to hold back tears “You’re right” he said before he added “this son of bitch Balak, he is dead?”

Logan nodded “He is in the main room, slowly bleeding to death”

Simon frowned “He is alive?”

“Not for long now. Bastard didn’t deserve a quick death” Logan answered

Simon nodded “Good”

Logan reached into his pockets and pulled out the dog tags from the engineers he had found “I also found your team too. They fought hard but I’m sorry they are dead”

Simon reached for the dog tags and took them off Logan “Thank you for looking for them. They deserve a burial” he said placing the tags into his pocket after looking at them for a few moments “Before you go. I want to thank you for what you did here; As lead engineer I get access to some quality items. Take your pick, you earned it”

Logan had a quick look “You have quarian armor?” he asked

Simon nodded “Yeah, we sometimes get quarians on their helping out here, they leave their fleets and look for stuff to take back and sometimes they leave stuff here”

Logan nodded and took the quarian armor and after shaking Simon’s hand, he turned around and headed back out.

“Commander, I have to say I was impressed with your knowledge of history” Garrus said as they walked back outside for the Normandy to pick them up “those events you mentioned happened a long time before humans were even a space fairing species”

“Yeah, during the Blitz the Alliance did some research on the batarians to find out what the Council’s reaction would be if full scale war were to break out” Logan told him calmly “It was decided that while the Council would not approve of war between humans and batarians they would not get involved, given their own history” he told them “plus alien history is a hobby of mine”

Liara overheard all this but was not really paying attention. She saw a side of the Commander she did not think possible, not including what she heard Balak accuse him of, which he did not deny. She knew she was going to look into his history once she got back. Well after she had her wounds looked at by Doctor Chakwas.

Once they were back on the Normandy and after they had taken their armor off, they all sat in the med bay while Chakwas patched them back up. Starting with Liara first, as her wounds were more serious, drawing the curtain closed so Liara could have some privacy. Since her wounds where on her chest, Liara had to remove her top. Chakwas stitched her up before taking a step back to look at her handiwork, once healed there wouldn’t even be a scar.

“You are lucky, I don’t think that one will scar” Chakwas said smiling.

“Thank you doctor” Liara said smiling as she put her top back on.

Chakwas then moved onto Shepard then Garrus she didn’t bother closing the curtain this time.

Logan looked over at Garrus, he had never seen a turian without a shirt on before, before he shook his head in disbelief he didn’t understand why human women were so crazy about turians, maybe it had something to do with their voices, then again he did have a female turian interested in him at one point, a bartender, of course he never did anything about it. Truth be told he never realized she had liked him until he served on that turian ship and he was saw how turians showed interest in each other, by then it was too late for him.

Garrus watched as the human doctor patched him up, he had not spent much time around human doctors, but she seemed to know what she was doing.

“Oh Doc, I will need everything you have on turian physiology” Logan said suddenly.

“Of course anything in particular you are looking for?” Chakwas asked.

“Well we are hunting a turian right now” Logan answered “While they cover a lot in N school, I just want to make sure all my bases are covered, you know refresh my memory”

Chakwas nodded “Of course” she said as finished with Garrus before she made her way over to him “You know, I don’t what I would have that you could use though” she said while focusing on his shoulder.

“Oh Doc you’re looking at it wrong” Logan told her “anything that you would never do for whatever reasons to a turian I need to know”

Chakwas thought for a moment “You do realize there is a turian sitting right here yes?” she asked and when Garrus had told her he didn’t mind she continued “Well there is some food that wouldn’t be pleasant for them” she told Logan.

Garrus nodded at that one “Yeah, you would not believe how many times on C-sec we would have to help a turian who would eat human food by mistake or even a human that had turian food by mistake”

Logan nodded as he took the files Chakwas gave him “Thanks”

“Right, I won’t you to all take it easy for the next forty eight hours, otherwise the wounds will not heal properly” Chakwas said.

“Sure thing Doc, I’ll just tell Saren to hold off on finding the Conduit, because I am not medically cleared” Shepard said sarcastically

Garrus chuckled “Yeah I’m sure that will go over well”

Chakwas just looked at the two of them “Very funny, of course I feel I should say this all of you did a great thing today” she told them with a smile.

Logan stood up slowly “Pressley, you are in charge for the time being, I have to take it easy and let these wounds heal” Logan said into the comms knowing he would hear him “Set a course for Feros”

“Aye, aye Commander” came the reply.

Logan looked at the two of them “Come with me” he said walking out of the med-bay.

Once they were out of the med-bay and in the mess hall, Logan told them to sit down and went to his cabin. After a moment he returned holding three glasses and two bottles. Placing them on the table, he slid one bottle closer to Garrus “That’s dextro-rum, picked it up on the Citadel” he said before he poured a drink a slid that across to Liara.

“I have never really been a drinker Commander” Liara responded.

“Humor me” Logan said pouring himself a drink “human custom” he told them “we drink to remember those that died and to still being alive” he said before he looked at Liara “It is coincided rude to refuse”

Garrus didn’t know that, so not wanting to offend he poured himself a drink and took a small sip “I am surprised that you would have this Commander” he told him.

Logan smiled “I got Ash to pick it up when we were at the Citadel, once I knew we were going to have a turian and a quarian on board” he said as he looked over at Liara who took a mouthful of the human bourbon, laughing as she coughed and shook her head “Slowly Liara, strong stuff” Logan took a small mouthful of his drink before he looked up at them “I am proud of the two of you, risking your lives like that for a human colony” he said holding his drink up and clinked his glass against their glasses.

“Commander I would like to ask you about Balak” Liara started after she took a sip “was he was telling the truth?”

Logan looked up “You mean about the colonies burning rhetoric? Nah” Logan told her finishing off his drink and pouring another “he was just another batarian terrorist who needed to die, if it wasn’t humans he would of found some other race to hate and would of tried the same thing on them”

“Do you hate batarians?” Liara asked innocently.

Logan looked at her “No I can’t say that I do” he said while taking a small mouthful “the problem is that a large majority of batarians you see outside of their system are not exactly nice people. The nice batarians aren’t allowed to leave their colonies really, so you might see a few sneak out but they are few and far between” he told her as he poured her another drink “Look at humans for example, if you only ran into terrorists and xenophobic humans you might think we are all like that but that doesn’t mean we are”

Liara took another sip “What about what Balak said about you?” she asked.

Logan looked at his drink at that “You mean the burning batarians alive? Burying them alive?” he asked. Liara just nodded “yeah, that was true” Logan told her finishing his drink.

Liara knew she wanted to find out more but didn’t know how to ask without making a fool of herself “So you are interested in history?” she asked changing the subject

Logan nodded and smiled slightly thankful for a change in topic “Yeah, I mean not prothean history not that I am not interested in them though, more modern than that but yeah” he told her “I just started reading about the Unification War”

Garrus was surprised by that but before he could say anything Liara spoke again “If you would like to visit me in my cabin, I could show you a few things” Liara said before she realized how that sounded ‘I mean about the protheans” she said blushing _someone kill me now_ she thought to herself.

Logan chuckled softly to himself “Thanks I will keep that in mind” he said.

Liara stood up “I should have a shower and get some sleep” she told him “thank you for the drink Commander”

Logan nodded “You are welcome Liara” he said as he watched her go _she does have a nice ass_ he thought to himself before he turned back to Garrus “So you see much action Garrus?”

Garrus chuckled to himself over the young asari falling over herself while in front of the Commander “Well not as much as you but I have seen a bit yeah”

Logan smiled “Anything that stand out?”

Garrus nodded and started to tell him about Doctor Saleon and the organ harvesting, the doctor was involved in _Maybe Shepard can help me find him_ Garrus thought hopefully.

 

Liara had made it back to her room and cursed her stupidity, she decided that she was going to do research on Shepard and on human males in general before she made a bigger idiot out of herself. Liara sat down and began reading about Logan’s childhood, when that became a dead-end she turned her search to his service history. Liara had found footage of Logan being taken to court after Torfan and had watched in horror as the images of what he did beneath the surface of Torfan were shown in court. Armed with more information she found out he was captured on Korlus and tortured by a human man called Kurt Silva and even found out that Kurt’s bond mate was an asari who had violated Logan’s mind. All of that before Logan broke his own arms to escape, Liara could not picture what would of forced someone to do that.

Liara sat there was the information sank in, she could understand everything that he did but could not understand how he was able continue on, she realized that Logan must be more strong willed than she could possibly know, and if she was being completely honest with herself that attracted her to him even more. Once she was able to process everything she had just found out she decided she was going to research human males. After a quick search Liara found what she was looking for and clicked on the link. On screen was a young asari talking to the camera behind her was a man.

“Hello today we will be talking about asari and human sexual relations” the asari on screen said smiling “humans first appeared after many of us had completed our sexual education, so I am going to explain what you may of missed out on” she said pointing to the man behind her “Kane here will be helping me” the asari said as Kane waved at the camera “now if you are interested in a human female please click on part two of this series”

Liara watched as the asari on screen as she stripped her human counterpart but leaving his pants on for now “Now human males are very visual beings, if you have gained their interest, you may of noticed they will often look at your breasts, butt or even legs” the asari said, Liara wondered at that point if Logan had been looking at her that way.

The asari on screen stripped and Liara could see she had begun the meld with the human “Males, like most other species will want to penetrate you and if you have melded with them, you may find you will want them too” Liara had expected this but once the asari had taken down the humans pants Liara saw her first human penis “unlike other species, human males have their genitals on the outside of their body”

Liara looked closer, the male seemed to be enjoying what the asari was doing to him as his penis quickly grew hard as the asari explained where the nerves in the penis and testicles were “Now go slow at first otherwise they will get too excited and if you have melded with them like I am now, it can be hard to control” Liara watched as the asari on screen seemed to control the human with a slight strain “like most species the more control you exert over their nervous system, the less enjoyable it is for them” the asari explained as her eyes were still black, the meld still in effect “however you may find humans are a lot more comfortable with ‘losing control’ as they call it. For your own enjoyment I suggest you have a look at just some of the things humans enjoy as there is far too many to name here”

Liara continued to watch as the asari and the human continued to explore each other’s bodies, Liara listened as the asari on screen explained that humans often use their mouths on each other and even said that they will expect to do the same to asari. Liara’s eyes widened as she watched the asari take the man’s penis in her mouth, his hands gripping the back of her scalp in a way that looked very enjoyable to Liara, then Liara saw the roles reversed and this time the man was between the asari’s legs kissing and sucking on her azure.

“Remember to focus on your own nervous system so you can enjoy what your human lover is doing” the asari said though moans, her hands gripping the man’s hair with both hands. Liara had thought that would have been painful but instead it seemed to not bother the man. Once he was done Liara watched as he pushed himself inside the asari, Liara couldn’t help but wonder about Logan doing those things to her, while watching them.

    

Logan had listened to Garrus and had gotten the details off him for Doctor Saleon _I will find him_ Logan thought to himself as he slowly made his way down to see Ashley. When he walked up to her, Logan noticed she was talking on vid-chat with a younger woman.

“I hear you’re working with Commander Shepard now? He’s cute, later sis” The younger woman had said as Ashley turned around slowly.

“Tell me you didn’t hear that?” Ashley asked.

Logan smiled “Afraid so” he answered.

Ashley closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head “Shoot me now. That was Sarah my youngest sister” she told him.

Logan leaned against the wall as he listened to Ashley talk about her family and her sisters before the subject changed to why she joined the military and of course her grandfather. Ashley seemed surprised when Logan didn’t know, she had told him her grandfather was THE General Williams the man responsible for the defence of Shanxi, the man who surrendered, the mistrust of aliens now made perfect sense. The subject even went to religion, something Logan had never followed, he had read books about different faiths though and so far he couldn’t find any that rang true with him. Of course, Logan told her he didn’t care what she believed in but he could tell she was kind of hoping that he believed in god too. Logan didn’t realize how long they had been talking, it had been hours and they had covered almost every subject there was, they had joked about basic training and Gunnery Chief Emerson who they were both trained by, laughed at Ashley threatening to ask Liara about her sex life and spoke about her mistrust in aliens.

“All I am saying Ashley is that bigotry can swing both ways” Logan told her “I mean look at Kaidan and I? both biotics, can you say that we wouldn’t get treated like shit in some places just because some humans think biotics are an alien agenda”

Ashley had to concede her point she knew, a lot of humans that would hate any biotics, simply over fear, truth be told she had some of those same thoughts herself until she came on board. Until Logan and Kaidan had forced her to change her prospective.

Logan had yawned not long after that and made his way to bed, where once again he was plagued by nightmares. The memories of Torfan were drowned out by images he received from the beacon, if only he could make more sense of it. As he knew it was a warning not just a nightmare, the images he saw would happen again.


	17. What nightmares may come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Logan, Garrus and Liara recover from the wounds the received on asteroid X-57, Liara comes to realize the toll it takes on Shepard's mind.

Logan slowly walked around the ship and spent most of his time talking to Garrus about C-Sec and his family. Garrus had needed help fixing the Mako due to his injuries, so Tali had joined them, while they talked shop and whatever else came up, mainly about different assault rifles though.

“I didn’t know you used an assault rifle Commander” Garrus said, his feet sticking out from underneath the Mako.

Logan chuckled “I like shotguns, suits my style more, you know up close and personal, but sometimes I need to hit things at a distance” he said as the sounds of the repairs on the Mako were getting loud. Logan was not even sure how they dealt with all that noise with making themselves deaf, Logan’s ears were ringing just standing here.

Tali looked up at that point and asked him to hold a wire for her, while she half climbed into the Mako her legs sticking out of the top, Logan noticed her very round butt sticking out of the top of the hatch. Logan had caught himself looking at her before he stopped himself _geez man not cool, she’s a teenager and on top of that you could kill her._ Logan thought to himself, while Logan liked Tali he wasn’t sure if he liked her like that, of course being cooped up on a ship, with few women around, him being in a dry spell. _That is just a nice way of saying you can’t get laid at the moment_ he thought to himself _you have just been stuck on this ship for too long that your starting to look at an alien your friends with and could kill with your dick, you can have female friends without trying to fuck them you know._ Logan berated himself. _After Feros we will go to the Citadel, for shore leave and I can take care of that problem_.

Logan never had trouble with attracting women, it was the getting rid of them afterwards that was the problem, every one of them seemed to ignore his warnings of only wanting a good time which he was always brutally honest about, they never listened and almost always wanted a relationship with him afterwards, maybe he would find a girl someday that he would want to spend more time with but for now he didn’t want the drama.

“I prefer shotguns too” Tali said climbing back out after a short moment and telling Logan he could let go of the wire he was holding “Just point and shoot”

Garrus chuckled at that “That just seems lazy to me”

Tali shrugged her shoulders “Well to be fair I am generally focusing on a lot more than just dropping shields in combat, I hack targets as well, so can’t spend too long lining up targets” Tali said sounding a little defensive “I have been meaning to ask you Commander” she started fidgeting with her fingers, a trait Logan had come to notice when she was nervous about something “I wanted to join you on the next ground crew, I can do more to help than just work on the engines and help fix the Mako when Garrus is injured” she told him sounding a little more pissed off then she intended “I mean I appreciate what you have done for me but I just feel I can do more to help and I….”

Logan held up a hand, he thought he would stop her from rambling too much “Relax Tali you are coming with me on Feros” he said as he watched her slightly bounce on her feet happily “We all are going but you will be with me”

Tali nodded “Thank you Commander, you won’t regret this” she said clearly excited.

Logan chuckled at watching her “We still need this Mako up and running before then” he told her.

Tali nodded “Of course” she said before getting back to work.

“I should go” Logan told them.

Logan had spoken to Wrex before he left the cargo bay and found out Saren was hire mercs acting strange for years. Wrex was hired to take out a trading vessel, but there was nothing really on it and Saren just seemed to be watching them. What made Logan take notice though is when a krogan batlemaster who is as old as Wrex is, says they had a bad feeling and left before even getting paid, krogan are not known for being cowards.

Logan thought about for a moment before changing the subject “You got any family Wrex?”

“You trying to make me cry Shepard?” Wrex asked.

Logan knew there was a story there and managed to get Wrex to talk about it, turns out Wrex was at one point trying to unify the krogan, at least get them to stop fighting and focus on breeding, made sense to Logan, if humans were hit with a virus like the krogan were, he could imagine that both men and women would be doing everything they could to solve it or at least get their numbers back up. But krogan being krogan wanted to keep fighting so they organized a meeting between the two sides, a Crush they called it.

Logan listened and had flashes of his time in the Reds and that ill-fated peace deal with the Eclipse “You had to know it was a trap right?”

Wrex nodded “Yeah but when you father invites you to a Crush, you go”

Logan did a double take “Your father?”

Wrex nodded and said that he had ended up stabbing his father in the chest and barely made it out alive “That is way I can never go back” he said and mentioned he was looking for his family’s armor that was taken by the turians after the krogan rebellions and now a profiteer named Tonn Actus has it.

“Send the details up to Joker and I’ll see what I can do” Logan said.

After speaking to Wrex Logan made his way up to see Joker, he hadn’t really spent much time near the helmsmen and wanted to get to know him better, where they were all going they might not come back after all after talking with Joker about his disease which Logan never knew about and telling Joker that if he was awarded a medal for pulling them off Therum then he would be bored to tears, which Joker just commented about how he wouldn’t be willing to shave off his beard to receive an award. Logan shook his head and made his way down to see Kaidan, he knew he was an L2 biotic but didn’t know where he had trained. Logan smiled to himself when he realized the two of them despite being biotics could not be any more different, Kaidan was a hopeless romantic while Logan on the other hand was somewhat of a… well, a slut.

“What do you think of our newest crewmember?” Logan had asked him.

“Dr T’soni? I like her, easy on the eyes” Kaidan replied.

Logan smiled and felt a slight pang of jealousness “Just remember, LT I saw her first” Logan joked.

“Only by a few seconds sir” was Kaidan’s response.

Logan laughed at that and got Kaidan to give him a run down on where the crew was at. Kaidan told him that it seemed the Council didn’t want to hear anything that Logan was warning them about.

“Wanting to believe everything will be ok? Sounds like human nature to me” Logan replied before he thought of something “What does the crew think about what I saw with the beacon?” he asked realizing he never knew what the crew had thought about his warnings of Reapers.

“Yeah I guess things carry across the species well enough, and the crew believes you Commander. They know you served in the Blitz and they have also noticed how stressed you have been since Eden Prime, if you say they are coming we believe you” Kaidan assured him.

 

 

Tali couldn’t believe her luck she was going groundside for a mission, she needed to go over her gear and maybe add some mods to her pistol and shotgun so she made her way to her locker. She opened the locker and found a new suit of armor just sitting in there. Quickly looking at it she noticed it was a rare Explorer set, Shepard must have picked it up somewhere and placed it in her locker. Tali was overcome with gratitude and knew she would be wearing this for her ground mission.

“I hear you’re going to be joining the Commander on the ground soon” Tali heard Ashley say from behind her.

“Yes I am” Tali replied watching the marine, nervous about where this is going.

Ashley stepped closer “I realize you and I have never really spoken before, I hope to change that” she said looking at the quarian.

Tali nodded “Sure I would like that” Tali said still trying to work out what Ashley really wanted.

“So engineer huh?” Ashley asked “so you see much combat before?”

Tali suddenly realized what Ashley was getting at “No, but I received training for it ” she lied, truth was she spent most of her time in engine rooms not running around with marines, while she knew how to hack and fire a shotgun those things did not make her a combat engineer “all got to start somewhere huh?” .

Ashley chuckled “That we do. So you’re a trained combat engineer then? Trained in demolition, cyber warfare, mortal combat?” she asked.

Tali nodded “Well trained” she lied.

Ashley just stared at her for a few seconds longer “Ok” she said suddenly “hey I know you will need a clean room to put that on right?” Ashley said and before waiting for an answer from Tali answered her own question “Only clean room on the ship would be the med bay”

Tali nodded “Thank you” she told the human marine.

Ashley smiled “Don’t mention it. Go put that new armor on, see how it fits”

 

Liara had done quite a bit of research on humans and even found some very strange ideas some humans seemed to have about asari. Some humans seemed to think that asari once had male asari and that they simply evolved past the need for them, that idea was so stupid Liara didn’t know where to begin, the truth was that life on Thessia all evolved in much the same way. Asari didn’t even realize there could be species with two genders until they met the salarians and after they came in contact with other races the asari realized that they were unique being mono-gendered, in fact they only started to refer to themselves as ‘she’ and ‘her’ after the salarians assumed that because they gave birth and have eggs, they must be female. Salarians always insisted on an answer for everything.

The idea that really bothered Liara though was the idea some human women seemed to have that the asari preferred human females and found males to be disgusting, Liara didn’t know where that idea came from as the asari could and have become bond mates with every single race there is, of course some preferred certain races or even certain genders but for the asari as a whole they were very open to the idea having a relationship with any race or gender. Liara just hoped that Logan didn’t think that she would not be interested in him because of the fact he was a male, it was bad enough to overcome the fact that he had a asari invade his mind the way that she did but now Liara had to overcome stupid beliefs as well and not including the rivalry from Ashley Williams and to a lesser extent Tali’Zorah who was now showing interest in the human.

Thankfully Liara thought that Tali was far too shy to even approach the Commander, something that was slightly amusing, now that she thought about it, Liara was shy when it came to the Commander but at least she wasn’t that shy. After spending hours sitting front of her screen, Liara noticed it was late and she still had not had dinner.

Making her way to the mess hall, she saw Logan slumped over the table asleep, a data pad under his face with one arm covering his ears and face _strange I wonder why he sleeps like that; it can’t be comfortable_ she thought to herself. Liara walked up slowly not wanting to wake him, and noticed he looked like he was having a nightmare, based on his movements and sweat pouring off him, Liara knew that humans unlike asari, sweat and they sweat the most when either hot or frightened and since the mess hall was not warm even for a human she knew it had to be fear. Reaching out to touch his shoulder to try and wake him, sleeping in the mess hall with a data pad stuck to his face could not be good for him.

Her hand gently touched his shoulder. The response was instant and explosive, in the space of a heartbeat; Logan had stood up and had grabbed her by the throat and had a knife in his other hand, before blinking and realizing who it was and where he was.

Logan had stopped himself in time, his eyes going wide “I…I’m so sorry Liara” he said while he dropped his knife to the floor and took a step back “I didn’t mean to I…did I hurt you?” he asked concern on his face.

Liara massaged her throat, she didn’t blame him for his actions, he must have been having quite the nightmare “You didn’t hurt me Commander, I did not mean to startle you Shepard” she said softly “you had fallen asleep in the mess hall, I was trying to wake you” she explained.

Logan nodded and leaned against the table his hands covered his eyes as he tried to control his breathing.

“Shepard may I ask what you were dreaming about?” Liara asked moving next to him.

Logan realized she was sitting next to him but he couldn’t look at her, not after what he had just done. He could have killed her, _damn it why couldn’t she be angry at me_ he thought “the beacon” he answered.

Liara nodded _it takes a toll on him, I wonder if he relives it every night?_ She thought to herself “How often do you have these dreams?” she asked.

Logan doesn’t look at her but his hands are no longer on over his eyes “All the time, awake or asleep it doesn’t seem to matter” he told her looking down at his feet “I get flashes when I am awake, like I am always thinking about it”

Liara couldn’t believe it _all the time, even while awake?_ She thought before turning to him “look at me Commander” she told him and once he did she locked eyes with him “I do not blame you for what just happened, do not blame yourself, I did startle you while you were having a nightmare after all” she told him.

“Yeah, ok” Logan said quietly as he slowly bent over to pick up the knife he dropped to the floor.

Liara sighed _I can help him but I would have to meld with him and he might not want that, not that I can blame him for being apprehensive about asari melding but I have to try_ Liara thought “I can help you Commander but I would need to meld with you _”_ Liara told him still looking him in the eyes.

Logan had a brief flashback of Zorilla and shook his head “No, that won’t be necessary” he told her and pulled away from her.

Liara nodded, she knew why he refused her offer but she wanted to help him “The offer will always be there Commander” she said as she watched him slowly walk off to bed.

Logan nodded to her “Thanks Liara” he said and disappeared into his cabin.

Liara couldn’t help but feel sorry for the human, something she guessed would annoy him, after having some food she made her way to bed.

 

**Attican Beta / Theseus System / Feros**

The next day they arrived at Feros. It had already been three days since the incident at the asteroid above Terra Nova and since Chakwas had cleared them all for duty they were free to go. Logan had made his way to the cargo bay to see the crew who were getting ready, he noticed that Tali standing near Garrus, Wrex and Liara and the quarian seemed nervous.

“Ready to get outside Tali?” he asked.

Tali seemed to almost jump at his voice “Y…yes of course Commander” she stammered.

Logan smiled and put a hand on her shoulder “Relax you will be fine”

Tali nodded “Thank you Shepard. Any advice?” she asked.

Logan looked at her nervousness and nodded “Yeah relax. I could tell you what some human marines do before their first mission to relax”

Tali nodded _that might help_ she thought “What do they do?”

Logan chuckled “They find a quiet spot and relieve some tension if you know what I mean”

Tali nodded before frowning _he can’t possibly mean…_ ”What do you mean by that?”

Logan chuckled “Engineer love thy self” he told her.

Tali was shocked and even Liara who could overhear them was, Ashley just chuckled to herself, while Wrex paid no attention not caring what they were saying and Garrus and Kaidan pretended not to listen, not wanting to have the female crew think of them doing that before a mission.

“You mean….” Tali said before dropping into a whisper “masturbate?”

 Logan nodded chuckling “Yeah, well with humans it lowers our heart rate, gets rid of excess tension, releases endorphins and clears the mind”

Liara couldn’t help herself, her curiosity getting the better of her “Is that what you do Commander?” she asked before she could stop herself _what is wrong with you? Asking him that, it’s one thing to think about him doing it, it is another to ask him about in front of the whole crew_ she berated herself.

Logan shook his head “Nah, I have done so many of these now, the nerves don’t bother me anymore” he answered without shame. Logan then looked around “we will be landing soon so all of you get ready”

Unlike other missions, Feros was going to involve everyone.

Everyone was going on this mission, since Logan thought they were going to be walking into a warzone. While waiting for scans to be complete and before the doors opened, Tali was nervous fidgeting with her hands and hopping from foot to foot, she was wearing her new armor but that didn’t help her nerves.

Tali tried to distract herself with talking to Ashley who was standing right next to her “Know anything about this colony?” she asked.

Ashley shook her head “No, I know one thing though” she said casually chewing on gum.

Tali looked at her “What’s that?” Tali asked.

Ashley leaned closer to her and looked her at her eyes though her mask “You were never a combat engineer. Just make sure you don’t get yourself fucking killed”

Tali turned back around, now she was even more nervous turning her head she saw Wrex looking at her.

Wrex smiled _this quarian is in over her head, has to learn sometime_ he thought “Relax” he told her before reaching over to her shotgun “Yank back on this, when it starts to overheat” he told her “It will vent some of the heat”

Tali nodded and thanked him as the doors opened.


	18. Welcome to the Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Normandy team arrive at Feros and soon learn the geth are the least of their problems

**Chapter 28: Welcome to the Strange.**

Tali stepped out of the Normandy once the doors, the smell of blood, death and fear was so think in the air you could almost choke on it. Tali could see burn marks and bullets holes in the walls and on the ground. While Shepard spoke with a colonist, the others kept watch, but geth were masters at stealth and one of them had sneaked up behind the colonist and before Shepard or any of the others could do anything, a rocket was fired hitting the colonist exploding on impact leaving nothing left.

Tali quickly hacked the geth making it turn on the geth beside it before firing her shotgun at the remaining geth and with the rest of them working with her they made quick work of the geth.

"Tali stick with me and keep that shotgun handy" Logan ordered before he switched to his assault rifle as the made their way into the stairways leading to the colony.

The Normandy crew made their way towards Zhu's Hope they faced off against more geth however due to the overwhelming firepower they made short work of them. Tali sometimes couldn't even get her shotgun up to bear before the geth she was aiming at was taken down by gunfire and biotics, but when she did she had to admit it felt good to kill geth.

Once they reached the entrance of Zhu's Hope and saw the colony more or less still standing. The colonists looked tired and dirty, there was a few children but they were not playing like children normally would instead they were helping with whatever they could.

"This colony might not be much but this is their home, they will fight to death to defend it" Tali said more to herself than anyone but noticed Wrex look over at her.

"Colony's tougher than it looks" Wrex replied.

Logan had started to speak with a few of the colonists and had quickly noticed something strange "Something is wrong" he told them and when they looked at him to explain what he meant he looked around "no one here has an opinion of their own they all say the same thing. Speak to Fai Dan"

Garrus looked around and tried to see if he could notice anything, his days in C-Sec taught him that humans always had opinions no matter how unpopular those opinions were and they only time they wouldn't freely give them was if they were scared into not telling you. Garrus followed the others and while Logan spoke to Fai Dan, Garrus kept watch, not really listening, seeing movement he got his assault rifle ready "Incoming" he yelled out.

Garrus could make out rocket troopers as well as snipers and even geth shock troopers, after he sabotaged the rocket troopers weapons he opened fire on the geth troopers and noticed one of them turn towards the other geth and starting shooting! He turned towards Tali and noticed she was responsible, as her Omni-tool glowed from use. Smiling, Garrus quickly dropped the shields of one and before he could fire noticed the geth was sent flying back by biotics, the whole squad had made very short work of the geth and Logan had seemed impressed, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Good work. Now we have to get to the ExoGeni headquarters but I want the rest of you to clear the tower and the tunnels beneath Zhu's Hope there should be a geth transmitter down there somewhere. Also see if you can do anything to help with power, food and water, once you're done head back to the ship I don't trust this place" Logan said before pointing at Tali "I will take our little geth expert and Wrex"

Tali and Wrex stepped forward before the whole squad followed Logan into the tower. As they made their way inside they saw a few more colonists fighting geth. Liara threw a singularity into the middle of the group lifting them up and out of cover while Garrus, Wrex and Ashley shot them with assault rifles. They made their way deeper into the tower and could see a geth dropship dropping geth down. Tali hit the closest one with an overload and noticed that it was quickly taken down by the others. It was then she saw a large red geth running towards her, firing her shotgun while backing up and it still wasn't going down, it was almost on top of her when Tali heard a primal roar and a eight hundred pound enraged krogan slammed into the side of it.

Wrex had heard humans refer to these giant geth as Destroyer's, known for charging to get in close and slamming into front lines. Wrex was curious if they earned their namesake so when its attention was distracted with the quarian, Wrex slammed into the side of it knocking it off balance and once it was on the ground Wrex jumped up and stomped down with both feet onto its chest, crushing its insides, grabbing the arms of the geth, Wrex lifted the top half of the machine up, while keeping one foot on its chest, he stomped downwards on its head four times while pulling on its arms, the result was the arms were dislocated and the head was pulverized. Stepping off the geth he turned to see Tali give him a nod in thanks.

Wrex smirked "Your welcome" he said before shooting another geth.

After a short firefight and after watching the dropship fly off, Logan and the others made their way towards the elevator.

Logan hit the button and stepped into the elevator with Tali and Wrex "Good hunting" he told them as the two groups went separate ways.

**Zhu's Hope Team**

Kaidan led the squad down the stairs between the four of them they could do a lot of damage, something the first few geth they came across found out the hard way. The stairway had a number of troopers and geth hoppers in it, Kaidan ordered Liara to focus on the troopers since her aim wasn't as good as the others but her biotics were very impressive, while ordering Ashley to use a shotgun since they had Garrus using an assault rifle. The geth never stood a chance the combination of Liara's biotics, Kaidan's biotics and tech along with Garrus tech and shooting and Ashley's straight firepower, they had killed them all in a matter of seconds.

After they had made it to the bottom of the stairs they crossed a bridge and moved into a side passageway when his barrier flared from rounds hitting it.

"Take cover!" Kaidan yelled as he dropped the shields of one geth trooper and noticed the geth putting up barriers "Ashley take down those barriers, Liara hit them with a singularity" he ordered.

Garrus sabotaged one trooper's weapon before he overloaded the shields of another, he noticed Ashley taking down the barriers with her shotgun giving the rest of them an easier time shooting them and Liara using her biotics was making the rest of the troopers in the passageway float up out of cover to be shot. After the last one fell, Garrus noticed a water pipe nearby frowning he moved to have a look at it.

"What have you found Garrus?" Kaidan asked walking up behind him "that's the controls the water for the colony, there should be more around here"

Garrus had bent down to get a closer look "It's an easy fix, it will just take a moment" he told Kaidan has he waved his Omni-tool at it and begun rewiring the system "looks like the geth were trying to cut off water and power, have to give them credit, it's a smart strategy" he said.

Ashley frowned and looked over at him "You agree with them?" she said with an angry tone.

Garrus shook his head "No of course not it's how do you humans say it 'give the devil his due'? It is a smart strategy is all"

Ashley huffed "Yeah well, smart or not people are dying of thirst up there"

Garrus had finished fixing the valve sending water flowing to that point "Which is why I just fixed it" Garrus said shooting Ashley a look "it's not running right yet there must be other valves that have been broken"

Kaidan looked at Ashley "Relax chief" he said to her before looking at Garrus "Good job Garrus, don't mind the Chief she doesn't like seeing a colony like this that's all"

Garrus looked at Ashley before nodding "It's fine, I would be upset seeing a turian colony like this. Understand Williams I just want to help"

Ashley caught herself about to say something before she stopped "Sorry Garrus, you didn't deserve that"

Garrus was taken back but recovered quickly and nodded "Don't worry about it"

Kaidan then ordered them to get moving again. Once out of the passageway they moved across another bridge and when the doors opened they could see two geth snipers along with an assault drone.

"Garrus target those snipers" Kaidan called out while dropping the shields of the assault drone.

Kaidan threw a sabotage at the two snipers shutting down there guns as the snipers stopped firing the he hit them with another overload Ashley opened fire with her shotgun on the drone while Liara took aim at the snipers Garrus was shooting at and after a few moments the drone and the two snipers were down. Before they could breathe a sigh of relief though three krogan came around the corner and started shooting at them.

Ashley was firing her shotgun at the closest krogan but it wasn't going down, in fact it was getting closer. When the krogan was closer it charged bowling over the human but before the massive alien could kill her, Ashley noticed rounds hitting it from its flank, from her back she aimed upwards and fired twice before it fell.

Standing back up she noticed it was Garrus who had just saved her life. She looked over at the turian "Thanks" she said before aiming at one of the remaining two krogan who had been thrown backwards by biotics.

After Kaidan and the other killed the remaining krogan they moved forward and into the room where they had come from and there in one corner was a transmitter locking on this location allowing the geth to send enforcements as they needed them. Kaidan ordered them to open fire on it and soon it exploded.

"Geth transmitter is done Commander. Power, water and food to take care of" Kaidan relayed into his comms.

**ExoGeni Team**

Logan and his team had just cleared part of the skyway of geth and where almost at the headquarters and had spoken to some survivors and was just leaving when Kaidan made a report over the comms.

"Good work, keep me updated" Logan answered.

"Aye, aye" Kaidan said.

After speaking with the survivors at the weigh station, Logan knew ExoGeni was hiding something. Jeong the ExoGeni rep was clearly worried about Logan being there and had even told him not to poke around ExoGeni; despite the fact the geth had attacked Feros. Juliana one of the other survivors didn't even know Zhu's Hope was still standing because Jeong had told her 'it was probably destroyed' and even told the woman that looking for her daughter in ExoGeni was a waste of time but Logan had told her he would try and find her. On his way out he had spoken to another survivor about getting some data since he was heading there anyway he agreed.

"Ever get the feeling that they didn't tell us anything?" Logan asked as they got back into the Mako.

Tali nodded "They did not seem eager to see us. Well that one human didn't"

As the drove up the ramp and towards the ExoGeni headquarters they came across even more geth. They were taking cover behind some barricades and they had a armature with them. One blast from the main gun and a two geth exploded in a ball of fire before Logan drove forwards and rammed the armature off the skyway.

"Crazy human" Wrex chuckled as he took aim at the remaining geth.

"Long way down" Logan commented.

Radio chatter came in from an unknown source "You owe us for this. The skyway is crawling with geth"

"Package is secure, we're leaving now" the radio said.

"Who was that?" Logan asked.

"Sounds like someone is already at the facility" Wrex said.

Once the geth were dead, Logan and the others got out and cleared a nearby passageway of geth as well and had managed to pick some gear before they all got back into the Mako and drove off towards the base.

"Wait we have incoming geth. Shut down the comm! We have incoming geth! Shut down the comm" the voice over the radio said.

"Whoever they were they just got found" Logan said shaking his head.

As they drove along the skyway they faced more geth. After a while they had cleared the skyway including another passageway that was crawling with geth.

"Commander, we just got the food and power sorted out and we found someone in the tunnels. He was either insane or something very wrong is going on here" Kaidan said over the comms.

"How do you mean Lt?" Logan asked as he ran over another geth.

"Well he kept trying to tell us something but every time he tried he would stop in pain. He also said we aren't the only ones looking to get rid of the geth but he couldn't say who" Kaidan said.

Logan frowned "Hold on" he said as he dodged a plasma bolt from an armature "We ran into an ExoGeni rep who didn't seem happy we are here, maybe related?"

"Maybe Commander, just be careful" Kaidan said.

"Well get that water running again. Then report back to the ship until we return. Something is defiantly wrong here" Logan said.

"Aye, aye" Kaidan said before going quiet.

Once the skyway was clear they finally made it to the ExoGeni base and sure enough it was crawling with the machines.

"There is no point to this unless they are looking for something" Wrex said.

"I agree" Logan said lining up the cannon so that they could kill some geth before they got out of the Mako.

Logan led the team inside and using his assault rifle took aim at the geth hoppers while Wrex took him at the geth on the walkway to their left hand side, Tali was hitting the closest geth with a combination of shotgun blasts and tech attacks. The three of them working so close together quickly cleared the ExoGeni hanger. Unknown to Logan and his team, Kaidan and the Zhu's Hope team were trying to reach them on the comms and but their signal was being blocked.

Logan looked around and saw a blue energy field blocking the doorways he opened fire on the field and noticed it did nothing.

'Our weapons won't get though that. We'll need another way in" Wrex said.

He turned back around and saw a passageway leading into the base and looked down.

"One way down Commander" Tali said.

Logan nodded and jumped down and headed into the large hallway. On the floor was a dead animal and as Tali and Wrex came up behind him Logan was shot at, whoever shot at him was a terrible shot.

But Logan and the others took their guns out anyway just keeping them trained on the woman.

"Damn it" a woman cursed as she walked closer "I'm sorry. I thought you were one of those geth or one of those varren" she said as she lowered the gun.

"Who are you and what are you doing in here?" Logan asked turning his head slightly to notice that Wrex and Tali had lowered their weapons as well.

"I'm Lizbeth Baynham" She said before sighing and wiping her hands on her suit "It's my own fault. Everyone else was running and I stayed behind to back up data" She said wiping her hand across her forehead "Next thing I knew, the geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped, I tried to get out but the way was blocked"

"I'll fight though the geth soon enough" Logan said.

"It's not the geth; it's that energy field they put up" Lizbeth told them as Logan offered her some water which she took "They don't want anyone else getting access to the..." she said stopping herself from saying more.

Logan looked at her "Come on spit it out, I'm here for the geth so if you know something tell me"

Lizbeth sighed before answering "Well i don't know for certain, but I'm guessing they're here for the Thorian"

"Thorian never heard of that before" Wrex said looking at Logan.

"It's a indigenous life-form. ExoGeni was studying it" Lizbeth answered.

"Why would the geth be after this Thorian?" Logan told her, his voice changing slightly, more aggressive.

Lizbeth held up her hands "I might be able to get some information but not with these geth crawling around" she said looking around "Look, we need to get out of here, past that field"

Logan looked at her like she was an idiot "Any suggestions?"

"No, not exactly. But i think the geth ship is powering it. I have noticed the geth laying power cables everywhere, you could follow them but there are geth all over the place" Lizbeth said.

Logan nodded "All right stay put until the field is down"

Lizbeth nodded and handed him an I.D card telling him it should get him past any locked doors.

"Alright let's move" Logan told the others.

As they walked away from Lizbeth a large pack of varren ran towards them. Logan already had his shotgun out and opened fire while the others did the same. Logan had two varren almost on top of him when he saw Wrex boot one in the ribs and blast the other with his assault rifle, Logan then turned on the varren Wrex had booted which was getting back up now and fired blowing its head off. Tali still firing her shotgun while backing up, she dropped one but another was still running towards her.

Logan had to throw on varren back that got too close to Tali but once the pack was dead they moved deeper into the base. Though the door on the other side of the room they could hear a krogan voice.

"Stupid machine! Access encrypted files" the krogan said.

Logan turned to Tali and Wrex and place one finger across his lips, Tali's translator program told her it meant he wanted them to be quiet; humans had such strange hand signals.

"No i don't want to review protocol" the krogan said again.

Logan seemed to be silently laughing at the krogan and when they reached the top they could see the back of the krogan and a V.I standing there telling the krogan that it was unable to comply and to contact his supervisor.

"Damn it. Tell me what i want or i will blow your virtual ass into actual dust" the krogan snarled.

"Please contact your supervisor for a level four security exemption or make an appointment with…" the V.I said.

"Stupid machine!" the krogan roared.

"If there is nothing else please step aside there is a queue forming behind you for use of this console" the V.I told him.

Logan laughed at that and launched a biotic throw at the krogan sending him back before getting his shotgun free and shooting the alien twice

Logan shot the krogan again along with Wrex and Tali the krogan was quickly dead. As Logan approached the console again the V.I snapped to life and warned them the firing weapons was against company policy before welcoming Logan as Lizbeth Baynham.

Logan showed the other's the I.D card he was given "What information was the last user trying to access?"

"The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of Subject Species 37, the Thorian" the V.I answered.

"What did you tell him?" Logan asked.

"I was unable to provide the previous user with any relevant data. Aside from lacking proper access there is no new data regarding Species 37. All sensors that have been monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several cycles" the V.I said.

"What does Zhu's Hope have to do with the Thorian?" Logan asked frowning; something told him he was not going to like the answer.

"Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu's Hope out post" the V.I answered.

Logan swore "Tell me everything you know about the Thorian"

"The Thorian is a simple plant life-form that exhibits sentient behaviour uncommon with other flora. Though dispersion and eventual inhalation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans" the V.I answered.

"Shit" Logan said.

"The Zhu's Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85% of all test subjects was infected" the V.I said.

Logan shook his head "That's why ExoGeni didn't want us here. They knew along what would happen to those people"

"It was deemed necessary to access the true potential of Species 37" the V.I told him.

Wrex looked at Logan "That's why they were acting strange"

"Your pilot should be warned" Tali said.

Logan nodded "Joker. Come in, Joker. Damn it that field is blocking us"

Wrex grunted "We find a way around the field and get back to Zhu's Hope"

Logan nodded and asked the V.I about the field, who told them that the geth have blocked all sensors within the facility and that there is unusual power fluctuations but couldn't pinpoint the source. Logan also asked for a rundown on the Thorian and how it smart it is, sentient was the only real answer and how big it was, tendrils kilometres in length told him it was big. Logan also asked about Lizbeth Baynham and it turned out she was in charge of the Zhu's Hope control group making her a liar.

"Let's shut down that ship come on" Logan told the others.

They moved down the hallway and found two geth shock troopers on their knees at some strange claw like object. Logan pointed to Tali and then her Omni-tool and then pointed to one of the geth, Tali knew what he wanted her to do, once she hacked one of the geth and it opened fire on its partner, Logan and Wrex quickly gunned down the other one before they turned their guns on the hacked geth that was still under Tali's control. Logan looked up at the giant claws that were latched onto the ExoGeni building.

"The geth use these claws to anchor their ships to the sides of buildings" Tali explained.

"Not pretty, but it does the job. How do we cut the power if it is coming from the ship?" Wrex asked.

"It will be difficult. We can check the other claws for weakness, but the geth are very thorough" Tali answered.

Dropping down Logan walked closer to the strange claw like object.

"What is this?" he asked Tali.

"Looks like a shrine" Wrex said.

"The geth blur the line between organic and synthetic life. It's natural to assume that they would seek understanding from a higher power" Tali told them.

Logan and the others made their way deeper into ExoGeni looking for a way to shut off the fields

**Zhu's Hope Team**

Kaidan had tried to get in contact with Commander Shepard but his signal was being blocked, he asked Joker to try and to keep trying and let him know when he got an answer. The team had fixed another water supply tap and was just clearing a tunnel of geth where the last valve now; they had encountered some resistance but nothing they couldn't handle. Garrus knelt down after the last geth was dropped and repaired the damage to the valve. After a few minutes he was done.

"Ok good work, now we tell the colonists the good news and head back to the ship" Kaidan said.

**ExoGeni Team**

Logan had just damaged the geth ship causing it to fall off the side of the building like a stone; it fell hundreds of feet to the ground below before exploding once it hit the bottom.

"This was my kind of mission, lots of things to shoot and finish it off with huge crash" Wrex said chuckling.

"I hope that ship was full of those geth bastards" Tali replied somewhat aggressively.

**Meanwhile: Zhu's Hope Team**

After walking back up the stairs and back into the colony, the team made their way around to the colonists that were in charge of food, water and power. They had received payments for their efforts which the Commander made sure they all knew that since Spectre's have to fund their own missions so every little bit helps. When they reached the front of the colony and while Kaidan and Ashley were talking to colonists about the return of the power and water, Garrus was doing a quick shop at a salarian merchant and Liara was looking at some small human children seemingly staring at the young asari.

The children were filthy, but that was to be expected but what wasn't expected was the strange look they were giving her. Liara had not seen many human children before, but she tried to reassure them that she was friendly so she gave them a smile and a small wave, which was not returned, instead they continued to stare, it was then Liara noticed that they were not blinking, just staring at her with a blank look in their eyes.

Garrus had just bought some mods for his sniper rifle when unknown to him Commander Shepard just destroyed a geth ship, and once that ship was destroyed, the colonists no longer welcomed the team and they attacked. Garrus had heard Liara yell something out and before he could see what her problem was he was attacked by the salarian who tried to choke him. The timing of it was the thing that stood out the most to Garrus; even military units would have had trouble attacking all at the same time like that. Garrus slammed his fist into the stomach of the salarian and turned to run that was when he saw all of the colonists running towards them, picking up rifles and whatever weapons they could, Garrus sabotaged their weapons and kept pulling back. Kaidan had ordered the team not to open fire on the colonists and instead to pull back to the ship.

Liara was still being stared at by the children when they attacked all at once, the children picked up rocks and sticks, whatever they could find begun to throw them at the asari, yelling out in surprise, Liara had noticed the whole colony rising up to attack them. Thankfully most of their weapons had already been overheated by Garrus and Kaidan; Ashley threw a strange grenade down, which Liara had never seen before and it exploded in a bright flash of light and deafening sound.

By sheer luck Liara was not looking at the grenade Ashley later called a 'flash-bang', instead she was raising a biotic field to protect all of them as they made their way back to the ship. Garrus and Kaidan kept the colonists weapons over heated while Liara held up her biotic field to keep out any stray rounds or rocks from hitting the team, on the other side of the field she watched as young human children beat their hands bloody against the biotic field, the blank look in their eyes would haunt Liara for a long time. As the Normandy's doors opened the team quickly got inside, the sounds outside the doors could be heard.

**ExoGeni Team**

"We are in lockdown here, Commander. Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way into the ship. They're freaking out" Joker told the ExoGeni team.

"The Zhu's Hope team make it back?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, they made it back, few scrapes and cuts but they are fine" Joker answered.

Logan nodded "Pull up into orbit; we are on our way back now. Tell the Zhu's Hope team to stay ready; I'll contact you again once I am closer" Logan ordered.

"Copy that. Good hunting" Joker replied.

"We're leaving, but let's rid this place of those damn synthetics before we go" Logan told Wrex and Tali.

The three of them made their way through the base and past the areas were those energy fields were in place at the end of one hallway they could see Lizbeth standing there waiting for them.

"There you are" she said sounding happy to see them, which would change soon "We should get out of here. I don't think this place is safe" Lizbeth said.

"You said you didn't know about the Thorian. I don't like being lied to" Logan said with a slight snarl in his voice.

"I...I was afraid. I wanted to stop the tests, but they threatened me, told me I'd be next. When the geth attacked i stayed behind to get a massage to Colonial Affairs. I tried to tell them where to find the Thorian but the power cut out before I could send the message. I..I never meant for this to happen" Lizbeth explained.

"Just tell me where it is. No more lies" Logan said.

"It is underneath Zhu's Hope, but the entrance is blocked. The colonists covered it with the freighter just before the geth attacked" Lizbeth said.

Logan rubbed his eyes "I had a team back there would they be infected? And why would the geth be after the Thorian anyway?" Logan asked.

Lizbeth shrugged "Well it does have unique mind-control capabilities. That's what ExoGeni was interested in"

"Normandy to shore party, come in" Joker called out over the radio.

"What is it Joker?" Logan asked.

"We are getting a lot of geth comm chatter, looks like they are headed your way" Joker warned.

"You heard the man, let's move out" Logan ordered.

Lizbeth stepped closer "I'm coming with you. I might be able to help. Undo the mess I helped create"

The four of them made their way to the Mako and got inside and prepared for the dangerous drive back to Zhu's Hope.


	19. Gardening on Feros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Normandy squad came face to face with the Thorian.

Logan and the rest of the ExoGeni team drove back to Zhu's hope with Lizbeth riding along. When one set of doors opened they could see three geth juggernauts and two armatures, Wrex opened fire with the cannon at one juggernaut sending skyward in a blaze of fire before focusing on the other right beside it. The machine gun cut though the geth's barriers in seconds and a blast from the cannon finished it off. The Mako was taking hits but not enough to do damage, with the machine gun firing on one armature and two blasts from the cannon and it was dead, the remaining juggernaut and armature were taken care of just as quickly.

After driving along the skyway they could pick up more chatter.

"...Is anyone picking this up?" one voice said as the Mako headed down the ramp.

"Get away from that radio" Jeong could be heard saying.

"What was that about?" Lizbeth asked.

Logan rolled his eyes "Jeong trying to control the situation I am guessing"

Radio chatter "...this is Juliana Baynham of the Feros colony. Please help us..."

"That's my mom. Stop. Stop the rover" Lizbeth called out as they neared the spot where they had seen Jeong and the others.

As the Mako stopped Lizbeth jumped out and ran inside.

Logan sighed, and got out of the Mako "Sure let's just run in without knowing what is going on" he said to himself.

As they followed her in being careful to stay hidden, they could see a agreement taking place between Juliana and Jeong.

"You can't do this Jeong" Juliana said.

"Everyone shut up! Let me think!" Jeong yelled.

Lizbeth looked over at Logan and the others and asked "What's going on?"

Logan shrugged and kept watching.

"You won't get away with this Jeong" Juliana said and went to walk closer to him when another man grabbed her from behind.

"Get her out of here!" Jeong ordered.

Lizbeth had seen enough at that point and stood up "Get away from her you son of a bitch!"

"Lizbeth" Juliana called out.

Jeong looked up and saw Lizbeth and guessed that there were others near-by as well "Damn it! Come out where i can see you! All of you!"

Logan stood up and motioned for Tali and Wrex to do the same and walked down the ramp and into the open.

"Hah. Shepard. Damn it! I should have known it was too much to hope the geth would kill you" Jeong said looking back at his guards making sure they were keeping close "I found out some interesting facts about you in the ExoGeni data base. I know what you did on Torfan. There's no reason for this to get bloody"

Logan looked at him with a dangerous look in his eyes "Not this time, Jeong. You need to back down and let them go"

Jeong shook his head "You don't understand. It's not that easy. Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged"

Lizbeth shook her head "This is a human colony, Jeong. You can't just re-purpose us"

Jeong scoffed at that "It's not just you. There is something here more valuable than a few colonists"

Logan cleared his throat "Are you going to tell them about the Thorian? Or should I?"

"The what?" Juliana asked

"It's a telepathic life-form living under Zhu's Hope. It's taken control of the colonists there. ExoGeni knew all along" Lizbeth explained.

"You won't get away with this, Jeong" Juliana warned.

"So you keep saying. But nobody is going to miss a few colonists" Jeong said smugly.

"They won't miss you either. This ends now!" Logan said pulling his pistol out.

"If that's the way it has to be, then come on!" Jeong said taking a step forward.

He only took one step before Logan had shot him in the face. The near-by guards looked like they wanted to get involved but Wrex and Tali pointing their weapons at them made them change their minds.

"As if we don't have enough problems. Now we're shooting each other in the back" Juliana said shaking her head.

"That was in the face, not the back" Logan calmly explained.

Juliana shook her head but before she could say anything more Lizbeth interrupted her "It's my fault. I knew what was going on and I didn't do anything"

"Don't you start. You do good work and you know it" Juliana told her daughter before turning back to Logan "So what now Commander?"

"I do my job" Logan said simply before adding "I need to find out why the geth are after the Thorian"

"The colonists won't let you near the Thorian. They'd die first. They're under its control" Juliana said with discomfort in her voice.

"Can't be helped" Logan said simply.

"There has got to be another way" Lizbeth said hopefully.

Juliana thought for a moment "I think there is. You could safely use a nerve agent to neutralize the colonists"

Lizbeth clicked her fingers "Like a gas grenade"

Logan thought for a moment "I am not going to stop and ask them to breathe deeply"

Juliana pleaded with him "How can it hurt to try? Please these people are friends"

Logan looked at the two of them "Fine, give me the agent"

Logan took the nerve agent and made his way back out, after handing in the data to Gavin Hossle, the man who had asked him to collect the data from ExoGeni and after getting paid for it the team made their way to the Mako.

Logan started to drive back towards Zhu's Hope and told Tali to get a hold of Joker for him.

"Joker, we have a plan to take down the colonists without loss of life. Tell the team to suit up with flash bangs and get ready; I want you to bring the Normandy in once we have the colonist's attention. I want them to use non-lethal force, the colonists are not responsible for what they are doing" Logan said.

"You got it Commander" Joker replied.

The Mako rumbled along the broken skyway and after a few fights with geth juggernauts and armatures they had reached the doors leading into the colony where they could see a strange humanoid being standing there, getting out, having a closer look, the creeper for lack of a better word ran at them and was quickly put down and even exploded when it died.

"That doesn't look human" Wrex said simply looking down at it.

"What is going on here?" Tali asked.

Logan looked at the creeper "Thorian must have its own bodyguards as well as the colonists" Logan said looking at his grenades and equipping the nerve agent to it before handing a couple to Tali and Wrex "No hitting the colonists, that's what the gas grenades are for"

Wrex looked at Logan "You sure? They are going to put up one hell of a fight"

Logan chuckled "What? Is the big bad krogan battlemaster worried about a few colonists? They aren't commando's Wrex, they would have poor shields and armour and they haven't had food and water for who knows how long" Logan said looking at the krogan "besides I don't want you to kill them, but if you need to, you can wound them" he explained.

Wrex nodded at that point "Then let's get going then"

Once they opened the doors they could see a large number of creepers seemingly waiting for them "These you can kill" Logan told them "Moving into the colony now" Logan told Joker.

"Copy that" Joker replied.

As they made their way into Zhu's Hope that had to fight their way through creepers before they came upon the first colonists, one grenade later and three of them were down before they took the elevator back up to Zhu's Hope.

Once the doors opened more creepers ran at them, the creepers had no self-preservation instinct and just ran into weapons fire, the creepers near the elevator were dead very quickly because of this.

Walking into the stairwell the saw more colonists, this time to save grenades, Logan used biotics to pull the weapons away from them, before he slammed his shotgun into the jaw of one of them and grabbed the back of the head of the other and ran it into the wall knocking them out.

Down the stairway, more creepers ran towards them, dozens of them, blocking the stairway. Wrex used biotics to push them back, some of them splatted against the wall. Logan threw three of the creepers of the side of the stair well and more just kept coming.

Wrex tore one creeper in half with his bare hands while Logan and Tali finished the rest of them off. Looking into the colony now they could see more colonists shooting at them as well as more creepers running towards them.

"Tali sabotage their weapons" Logan ordered while throwing one creeper backwards with biotics.

The colonist's guns stopped firing but the creepers kept coming, Logan and Wrex tore the creepers apart using biotics and muscle. Once the creepers were down the colonists were put to sleep with a gas grenade.

"They are protecting the Thorian, we need to move the cargo blocks" Wrex said.

A sound like children screaming could be heard, not screaming in fear though and a large group of human children could be seen carrying sharp sticks and throwing rocks as they ran towards them.

"This is horrible" Tali said in horror as she threw a grenade at the children knocking them out.

Logan broke the skull of a creeper with a stomp before agreeing "Good thing about those gas grenades"

Wrex nodded "I am just glad they worked" he said looking down at the small human children "I may work for monsters once and a while but I am not one"

Logan agreed and kept moving deeper into the colony, using gas grenades to limit the causalities and gunning down creepers.

"Commander, we are back on Zhu's Hope, where are you?" Kaidan asked.

"Centre of the colony, use flash bangs and non-lethal force if you come across any colonists, we have gas grenades that can put them to sleep" Logan answered as he broke both the arms of one colonist that got too close and left him screaming on the ground.

"Copy that" Kaidan answered.

"There is strange humanoid creatures too, those you can kill" Logan told him.

"Aye, aye" Kaidan said.

As Logan and the others made their way deeper into the colony, Kaidan and the rest of the crew attacked from behind forcing the colonists to defend on two fronts, they were no match for the combined assault from both sides.

As Logan met with Kaidan and the others in the middle of the colony after they had killed the large number of creepers and knocked out the colonists or immobilized them so they were no longer a threat, they could see the controls for the crane and once they activated it they could hear Fai Dan speaking behind them.

Turning around they saw Fai Dan walking towards them with a gun "I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain. I was supposed to be a leader. These people trusted me. It wants me to stop you...but I won't. I WON'T!" Fai Dan screamed as he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger before anything could be done.

Logan looked down at Fai Dan before turning back to the others "Let's go see what this Thorian is exactly"

Garrus looked at Logan "Thorian? I have never heard of that"

Wrex chuckled "It is a plant apparently, a smart one"

Liara frowned at that "So first contact?"

Logan shook his head "For us, not for it. It already knows about us, it's the reason the colonists were trying to stop us"

Ashley shook her head "Ever get the feeling aliens don't like us much?"

Logan shook his head at that but said nothing, as they made their way down the stairs the smell of compost and dirt was almost overpowering. Once they reached the bottom they could see a large open area.

"All right, we just need to find this creature and determine what it…what it…" Tali said before she saw a giant plant "Keelah, what is that?"

"This wasn't covered in my training manuals." Garrus said dryly.

"And they call me ugly..." Wrex chuckles to himself.

Logan looks up at the giant plant "Nothing is ever simple is it?" he deadpans.

As they step forward the Thorian begins to move and spits out a green skinned asari.

"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good to only dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands you be in awe!" The green asari said.

Logan stepped forward "You enslaved the colonists! You destroyed their minds! I don't know what Saren wanted with you, but I just want you dead!"

The green asari looked at him with her eyes narrowed "The Thorian is a piece of this world, extending across the land and back through the ages. You can no more kill it then cut the sky" she said as she got a weapon ready "Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth"

Logan had got his shotgun free and opened fire as the others followed his lead. The asari threw Liara, Garrus and Ashley back with one biotic throw before she ran to cover behind Logan and the others. More creepers appeared at that point and the asari took cover behind them as she used her assault rifle firing at Wrex. Logan had just been attacked by a creeper and as soon as he threw it backwards, he too was thrown by biotics.

Sliding across the floor Logan could feel his shoulder dislocate "Tali over here, rest of you keep them off us" Logan ordered.

Tali ran to Shepard's side, as dozens of creepers surrounded the rest of the team 'What do you need me to do?" Tali asked.

Logan groaned in pain before he looked at Tali "My right shoulder is dislocated"

Tali put her hands up in nervousness "I don't know anything about human anatomy"

Logan chuckled "Then you are about to get a crash course" he said as he took one of her hands and placed it underneath his arm "push there while pulling on my wrist, you need to keep my arm straight, a small jolt should do it"

Tali breathed inwards and did as she was told and she heard a slight crunch followed by Logan swearing in pain "I'm sorry I…"

Logan held up a hand to stop her "No that did it, it was meant to hurt" he told her.

Tali nodded and helped him back up to his feet. The green asari had just been shot in the head and the last of the creepers were being dealt with. Logan moved closer to where the creepers were coming from and saw a strange tendril with a large bulb near it and as soon as he shot at it more creepers tried swarming them.

Logan threw a grenade and after fighting off the creepers he ordered them all to target the bulb, once it was blown off the wall with a sickening stench coming from it. A loud screech could be hear coming from the Thorian. The fighting got more intense as dozens of creepers rushed out to greet them and the green asari was back, the team fought though them taking hits from the creepers, but the real danger was from the green asari. The team had destroyed two of those bulbs by now and still fighting though the muck.

Wrex was knocked down to his knees by the creepers and the asari and he had thought he was going to die, until he felt a human foot on his back and he turned his head just enough to see Logan using Wrex as a springboard, diving on the asari, Logan snapped one of her arms before he picked her up over his head and bought her back down snapping her back over one knee.

While Logan helped keep the creepers off Wrex, Tali gave Wrex some medi-gel to get him back on his feet. After taking all of them taking a beating they destroyed another tendril bulb.

"Should be nearly dead now" Wrex said as he looked at the rest of them, all covered in a mixture of blood, dirt and Thorian…slime.

"Hope so" Logan said.

The last bulb was the hardest, as creepers filled the hallways and that asari was back again, Tali took a bad hit to her mask and had to preform emergency repairs, Garrus was thrown against a wall with biotics, Wrex was covered in creepers as he tried to throw them off him, Ashley had a bad cut over one eye and Kaidan was walking with a limp while Liara was nursing her left arm while shooting with her right.

After minutes of intense fighting the last creeper was down and the asari had been torn apart by biotics from Liara and Wrex. The bulb was destroyed and with it sent the Thorian falling hundreds of feet to the bottom of the pit underneath Zhu's Hope.

An asari with the same markings as the green asari could be seen emerging from a part of the dead plant, only this asari was purple not green.

"I'm free. I'm free" the asari said still unsteady on her feet "I...I suppose I should thank you for releasing me"

Logan looked at her "How do I know this isn't a trick? I had killed you more than once today"

'It is no trick. The Thorian is dead and I am myself again" The asari explained "my name is Shiala. I serve…I served Matriarch Benezia. When she sided with Saren, so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way" Shiala explained.

Logan raised an eyebrow "He tricked her? How exactly did he manage that?"

"Benezia underestimated Saren. As did I. We came to believe in his cause and goals. The strength of his influence is troubling" Shiala told him.

"Benezia hoped to turn the river but instead was swept away" Liara explained sounding slightly happier about the fact her mother did not join Saren for the wrong reasons.

Wrex shook his head and scoffed "About time asari meddling bit them in the ass"

"Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?" Logan asked not quite convinced.

"Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I have ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute" Shiala explained as she paced back and forth before stopping to look at Logan and the others "I was a willing slave when Saren bought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets" Shiala said looking almost ashamed "Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian"

Logan didn't seem to care much "That's what you get for trusting Saren"

Shiala looked down at her feet "Saren is quick to betray his followers and his allies. Once he had what he needed, he ordered the geth to destroy the Thorian. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not get the Cipher"

Logan took a glance at Liara who merely shook her head telling him she didn't know what it was either "What is the Cipher. And why does Saren need it?"

Shiala sighed but answered "The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions. But the visions are unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their history, their culture, their very existence" Shiala explained taking her time to study the rest of them "The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it"

Logan looked like he was getting annoyed "Enough mystic shit. Where is the Cipher?"

Shiala kept her composure but only because she had been a commando for hundreds of years by this point "The Cipher is the very existence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like explaining colour to a creature without eyes" Shiala calmly explained "To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory - the Cipher - when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists"

Logan stepped forward "You taught Saren. You can teach me" he said ignoring his own memory of the last time an asari was in his mind.

Shiala could almost sense his uneasiness with what he just suggested to make sure she explained in clear details what it would take "There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind into yours, as I did with Saren"

Logan nodded "Do it" he said simply.

Liara had wanted to meld with Logan and it upset her slightly, it would not be her in his mind but Shiala. She ignored the feeling though as she knew they had to have this Cipher. She just hoped it wouldn't make him relive painful memories.

Shiala nodded and walked closer, she could almost feel the tension coming off him "Try to relax Commander. Slow, deep breathes. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another" Shiala said walking closer to him, she could tell her words were calmed him "Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another's mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit" Shiala said as she was now close to the human "We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander"

Shiala said as she was now close enough to hear his heartbeat "Embrace eternity!"

Once inside his mind she saw a brief flash of another asari causing him pain as she violated his mind. Shiala understood why he was so nervous but used her connection with him to calm him down, as she saw the vision from Eden Prime and she gave him the Cipher, she understood that Saren had to be stopped, not matter the cost and she also realized that she had helped him, despite what she had done to this colony, her greatest crime was helping Saren. Shiala could feel Logan's mind opening up to her just enough for her to implant the Cipher, he couldn't keep his whole mind from her though and as a result she could see parts of his life and the slight massage she got from his mind, it was not unpleasant, she could tell he had never spent any time in allowing another into his mind but he was only focused on the Cipher, to Shiala's slight disappointment.

The vision from Eden Prime played in both of their minds; well in Logan's mind but Shiala saw it as well. The vision was clearer now, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to see. Images of Protheans being torn apart by synthetics, the feeling of pain and loss was sickening, in fact if the two commandos' had not seen so much death and combat, their minds would not have been able to take it. At the end of the vision, a new image, one of a… bug or synthetic creature before they saw nothing.

Once it was over Shiala stepped back her mind still processing what she had seen. Logan opened his eyes as well, the two of them shared a look that they knew what was coming.

"I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now" Shiala explained.

Liara looked at Logan "Are you ok Commander you look….pale"

Logan nodded "I saw…I'm not sure what I saw, it didn't make a lot of sense"

Shiala nodded "You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process the information"

Garrus looked at the Commander; he didn't look that good "We should get Chakwas to have a look at you"

Shiala didn't know what would happen to her at this point but she would face whatever punishment was coming, she did not wish however to hurt the human "I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher. In time, it will help you understand the vision from the beacon"

"What should I do with you?" Logan asked removing his pistol.

Shiala took a deep breath "If you would allow it I wish to stay here, these colonists have suffered greatly, and I played a hand in their suffering. I wish to make a amends"

Logan looked at her "You sided with Saren, as far as I know you still are. It would be a huge risk for me to just leave you here"

Shiala understood what he was saying but if he expected her to beg for her life or for forgiveness, he wouldn't get it. Instead she would face her punishment whether that would be quick and end with a bullet to her head or her helping Zhu's Hope in every way she could it didn't matter "Your suspicions are understandable. But you freed me from the Thorian, and from Saren. I am on your side now"

Logan studied her for a moment before turning to walk away "You can stay; I will expect you to keep your word. If I have to come back here because of you, I will scalp you" he warned.

Both asari took notice of his warning, to an asari there would be no worse way to die then being scalped, but while Liara shuddered from the idea of it Shiala simply bowed her head. After melding with him, she knew he would do exactly that and it was not an empty threat but Shiala did not make an empty promise.

"Thank you, I will not break my word" Shiala said.

As Logan and the others made their way out of the Thorian pit, Logan was drinking his water while the others stayed silent, unsure of what to say. Once back in Zhu's Hope, they could see the colonists walking around; some of them were being treated to. As they were leaving a kid walked up to Tali, the young boy was holding a toy ship.

"Excuse me" he called out and when Tali looked down at him he handed her the ship "thank you for helping us, I wanted to give you this, mummy says that quarians like ships"

Tali was confused and shook her head "That's all right you keep it"

The boy shook his head and looked upset "No. I want you to have it" he said placing it into her hand and running off before she could say anything else.

Logan smiled "Looks like you just got your pilgrimage gift" he joked.

Tali looked at the ship and placed it into her pocket "Well the fleet always did want new ships. But in all seriousness, it will be a good memento of what we did here"

Logan nodded "You did good work, all of you did"

**Normandy briefing room**

Logan had yet to see Dr Chakwas, he just needed to discuss what they had encountered at Zhu's Hope. After talking about the mission in general and the new fact of how Benezia joined Saren, the subject then turned towards the Cipher and if Logan could make any sense out of it and when he couldn't Liara offered to meld with him to help try and make sense of it.

"Do it, we don't have much time" Logan told her.

Liara stood up and walked closer to him "Embrace eternity" her eyes went black.

Liara like Shiala before her saw images of the asari who tortured him, but unlike Shiala, Logan never really closed his mind off almost as if he trusted Liara. She could also feel Logan getting excited at her touching his mind. She also saw why Logan had trouble sleeping; the images were intense and very graphic. Liara thought she was going to be sick.

Logan had thought he would know what to expect after Shiala had shown him that an asari mind meld did not have to be painful and even felt Shiala calm him down, he was not prepared for the meld with Liara to feel so….good, he even started to get hard from her touch. After a few moments Liara stepped back and looked sick.

After saying that the images were intense and sounding a little impressed with him, but sadly nothing new yet. After dismissing everyone, Logan called the Council.

"Commander. ExoGeni should have told us about the Thorian. It would have saved you a lot of trouble, shame you had to kill it though, it would have been interesting to study" Councillor Valern said. Logan had recently made sure to remember their names.

"The only reason to study something like that is to work out the best way of killing it" Logan said simply.

'Yes. Kill it. That's what humans do to things that don't understand isn't it?" Sparatus interjected.

Logan looked up at the turian councillor "Are for forgetting how your people met mine? Seems to me you have selective memory" Logan replied back. He really didn't like him "besides the Thorian wasn't complex, it enslaved the colonists and forced them to fight and even send their own children into combat. It would have done the same to any species that came in contact with it"

Valern nodded 'Well, perhaps it was for the best then. At least you saved the colony…"

Sparatus scoffed at that point "Of course he did. Shepard would do anything to save a human colony"

Logan shook his head "So you would of rather I gunned down civilians when I had a way around it? They had no training, no hard suits and were no match for a N7 or anyone for that matter with combat experience, they were barely holding against the geth. But point taken councillor if I ever have to go to a turian colony, I will keep that in mind. I can't believe this shit; I saved a colony AND completed my mission and you're bitching about it? Wake up and smell what you are shovelling. Joker end transmission"

Joker chuckled "Looks like we had a bad connection"


	20. Gardening on Feros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and the team come face to face with the Thorian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to reveal next chapter who Logan's love interest is. As always feedback is always welcome

Logan and the rest of the ExoGeni team drove back to Zhu's hope with Lizbeth riding along. When one set of doors opened they could see three geth juggernauts and two armatures, Wrex opened fire with the cannon at one juggernaut sending skyward in a blaze of fire before focusing on the other right beside it. The machine gun cut though the geth's barriers in seconds and a blast from the cannon finished it off. The Mako was taking hits but not enough to do damage, with the machine gun firing on one armature and two blasts from the cannon and it was dead, the remaining juggernaut and armature were taken care of just as quickly.

After driving along the skyway they could pick up more chatter.

"...Is anyone picking this up?" one voice said as the Mako headed down the ramp.

"Get away from that radio" Jeong could be heard saying.

"What was that about?" Lizbeth asked.

Logan rolled his eyes "Jeong trying to control the situation I am guessing"

Radio chatter "...this is Juliana Baynham of the Feros colony. Please help us..."

"That's my mom. Stop. Stop the rover" Lizbeth called out as they neared the spot where they had seen Jeong and the others.

As the Mako stopped Lizbeth jumped out and ran inside.

Logan sighed, and got out of the Mako "Sure let's just run in without knowing what is going on" he said to himself.

As they followed her in being careful to stay hidden, they could see a agreement taking place between Juliana and Jeong.

"You can't do this Jeong" Juliana said.

"Everyone shut up! Let me think!" Jeong yelled.

Lizbeth looked over at Logan and the others and asked "What's going on?"

Logan shrugged and kept watching.

"You won't get away with this Jeong" Juliana said and went to walk closer to him when another man grabbed her from behind.

"Get her out of here!" Jeong ordered.

Lizbeth had seen enough at that point and stood up "Get away from her you son of a bitch!"

"Lizbeth" Juliana called out.

Jeong looked up and saw Lizbeth and guessed that there were others near-by as well "Damn it! Come out where i can see you! All of you!"

Logan stood up and motioned for Tali and Wrex to do the same and walked down the ramp and into the open.

"Hah. Shepard. Damn it! I should have known it was too much to hope the geth would kill you" Jeong said looking back at his guards making sure they were keeping close "I found out some interesting facts about you in the ExoGeni data base. I know what you did on Torfan. There's no reason for this to get bloody"

Logan looked at him with a dangerous look in his eyes "Not this time, Jeong. You need to back down and let them go"

Jeong shook his head "You don't understand. It's not that easy. Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged"

Lizbeth shook her head "This is a human colony, Jeong. You can't just re-purpose us"

Jeong scoffed at that "It's not just you. There is something here more valuable than a few colonists"

Logan cleared his throat "Are you going to tell them about the Thorian? Or should I?"

"The what?" Juliana asked

"It's a telepathic life-form living under Zhu's Hope. It's taken control of the colonists there. ExoGeni knew all along" Lizbeth explained.

"You won't get away with this, Jeong" Juliana warned.

"So you keep saying. But nobody is going to miss a few colonists" Jeong said smugly.

"They won't miss you either. This ends now!" Logan said pulling his pistol out.

"If that's the way it has to be, then come on!" Jeong said taking a step forward.

He only took one step before Logan had shot him in the face. The near-by guards looked like they wanted to get involved but Wrex and Tali pointing their weapons at them made them change their minds.

"As if we don't have enough problems. Now we're shooting each other in the back" Juliana said shaking her head.

"That was in the face, not the back" Logan calmly explained.

Juliana shook her head but before she could say anything more Lizbeth interrupted her "It's my fault. I knew what was going on and I didn't do anything"

"Don't you start. You do good work and you know it" Juliana told her daughter before turning back to Logan "So what now Commander?"

"I do my job" Logan said simply before adding "I need to find out why the geth are after the Thorian"

"The colonists won't let you near the Thorian. They'd die first. They're under its control" Juliana said with discomfort in her voice.

"Can't be helped" Logan said simply.

"There has got to be another way" Lizbeth said hopefully.

Juliana thought for a moment "I think there is. You could safely use a nerve agent to neutralize the colonists"

Lizbeth clicked her fingers "Like a gas grenade"

Logan thought for a moment "I am not going to stop and ask them to breathe deeply"

Juliana pleaded with him "How can it hurt to try? Please these people are friends"

Logan looked at the two of them "Fine, give me the agent"

Logan took the nerve agent and made his way back out, after handing in the data to Gavin Hossle, the man who had asked him to collect the data from ExoGeni and after getting paid for it the team made their way to the Mako.

Logan started to drive back towards Zhu's Hope and told Tali to get a hold of Joker for him.

"Joker, we have a plan to take down the colonists without loss of life. Tell the team to suit up with flash bangs and get ready; I want you to bring the Normandy in once we have the colonist's attention. I want them to use non-lethal force, the colonists are not responsible for what they are doing" Logan said.

"You got it Commander" Joker replied.

The Mako rumbled along the broken skyway and after a few fights with geth juggernauts and armatures they had reached the doors leading into the colony where they could see a strange humanoid being standing there, getting out, having a closer look, the creeper for lack of a better word ran at them and was quickly put down and even exploded when it died.

"That doesn't look human" Wrex said simply looking down at it.

"What is going on here?" Tali asked.

Logan looked at the creeper "Thorian must have its own bodyguards as well as the colonists" Logan said looking at his grenades and equipping the nerve agent to it before handing a couple to Tali and Wrex "No hitting the colonists, that's what the gas grenades are for"

Wrex looked at Logan "You sure? They are going to put up one hell of a fight"

Logan chuckled "What? Is the big bad krogan battlemaster worried about a few colonists? They aren't commando's Wrex, they would have poor shields and armour and they haven't had food and water for who knows how long" Logan said looking at the krogan "besides I don't want you to kill them, but if you need to, you can wound them" he explained.

Wrex nodded at that point "Then let's get going then"

Once they opened the doors they could see a large number of creepers seemingly waiting for them "These you can kill" Logan told them "Moving into the colony now" Logan told Joker.

"Copy that" Joker replied.

As they made their way into Zhu's Hope that had to fight their way through creepers before they came upon the first colonists, one grenade later and three of them were down before they took the elevator back up to Zhu's Hope.

Once the doors opened more creepers ran at them, the creepers had no self-preservation instinct and just ran into weapons fire, the creepers near the elevator were dead very quickly because of this.

Walking into the stairwell the saw more colonists, this time to save grenades, Logan used biotics to pull the weapons away from them, before he slammed his shotgun into the jaw of one of them and grabbed the back of the head of the other and ran it into the wall knocking them out.

Down the stairway, more creepers ran towards them, dozens of them, blocking the stairway. Wrex used biotics to push them back, some of them splatted against the wall. Logan threw three of the creepers of the side of the stair well and more just kept coming.

Wrex tore one creeper in half with his bare hands while Logan and Tali finished the rest of them off. Looking into the colony now they could see more colonists shooting at them as well as more creepers running towards them.

"Tali sabotage their weapons" Logan ordered while throwing one creeper backwards with biotics.

The colonist's guns stopped firing but the creepers kept coming, Logan and Wrex tore the creepers apart using biotics and muscle. Once the creepers were down the colonists were put to sleep with a gas grenade.

"They are protecting the Thorian, we need to move the cargo blocks" Wrex said.

A sound like children screaming could be heard, not screaming in fear though and a large group of human children could be seen carrying sharp sticks and throwing rocks as they ran towards them.

"This is horrible" Tali said in horror as she threw a grenade at the children knocking them out.

Logan broke the skull of a creeper with a stomp before agreeing "Good thing about those gas grenades"

Wrex nodded "I am just glad they worked" he said looking down at the small human children "I may work for monsters once and a while but I am not one"

Logan agreed and kept moving deeper into the colony, using gas grenades to limit the causalities and gunning down creepers.

"Commander, we are back on Zhu's Hope, where are you?" Kaidan asked.

"Centre of the colony, use flash bangs and non-lethal force if you come across any colonists, we have gas grenades that can put them to sleep" Logan answered as he broke both the arms of one colonist that got too close and left him screaming on the ground.

"Copy that" Kaidan answered.

"There is strange humanoid creatures too, those you can kill" Logan told him.

"Aye, aye" Kaidan said.

As Logan and the others made their way deeper into the colony, Kaidan and the rest of the crew attacked from behind forcing the colonists to defend on two fronts, they were no match for the combined assault from both sides.

As Logan met with Kaidan and the others in the middle of the colony after they had killed the large number of creepers and knocked out the colonists or immobilized them so they were no longer a threat, they could see the controls for the crane and once they activated it they could hear Fai Dan speaking behind them.

Turning around they saw Fai Dan walking towards them with a gun "I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain. I was supposed to be a leader. These people trusted me. It wants me to stop you...but I won't. I WON'T!" Fai Dan screamed as he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger before anything could be done.

Logan looked down at Fai Dan before turning back to the others "Let's go see what this Thorian is exactly"

Garrus looked at Logan "Thorian? I have never heard of that"

Wrex chuckled "It is a plant apparently, a smart one"

Liara frowned at that "So first contact?"

Logan shook his head "For us, not for it. It already knows about us, it's the reason the colonists were trying to stop us"

Ashley shook her head "Ever get the feeling aliens don't like us much?"

Logan shook his head at that but said nothing, as they made their way down the stairs the smell of compost and dirt was almost overpowering. Once they reached the bottom they could see a large open area.

"All right, we just need to find this creature and determine what it…what it…" Tali said before she saw a giant plant "Keelah, what is that?"

"This wasn't covered in my training manuals." Garrus said dryly.

"And they call me ugly..." Wrex chuckles to himself.

Logan looks up at the giant plant "Nothing is ever simple is it?" he deadpans.

As they step forward the Thorian begins to move and spits out a green skinned asari.

"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good to only dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands you be in awe!" The green asari said.

Logan stepped forward "You enslaved the colonists! You destroyed their minds! I don't know what Saren wanted with you, but I just want you dead!"

The green asari looked at him with her eyes narrowed "The Thorian is a piece of this world, extending across the land and back through the ages. You can no more kill it then cut the sky" she said as she got a weapon ready "Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth"

Logan had got his shotgun free and opened fire as the others followed his lead. The asari threw Liara, Garrus and Ashley back with one biotic throw before she ran to cover behind Logan and the others. More creepers appeared at that point and the asari took cover behind them as she used her assault rifle firing at Wrex. Logan had just been attacked by a creeper and as soon as he threw it backwards, he too was thrown by biotics.

Sliding across the floor Logan could feel his shoulder dislocate "Tali over here, rest of you keep them off us" Logan ordered.

Tali ran to Shepard's side, as dozens of creepers surrounded the rest of the team 'What do you need me to do?" Tali asked.

Logan groaned in pain before he looked at Tali "My right shoulder is dislocated"

Tali put her hands up in nervousness "I don't know anything about human anatomy"

Logan chuckled "Then you are about to get a crash course" he said as he took one of her hands and placed it underneath his arm "push there while pulling on my wrist, you need to keep my arm straight, a small jolt should do it"

Tali breathed inwards and did as she was told and she heard a slight crunch followed by Logan swearing in pain "I'm sorry I…"

Logan held up a hand to stop her "No that did it, it was meant to hurt" he told her.

Tali nodded and helped him back up to his feet. The green asari had just been shot in the head and the last of the creepers were being dealt with. Logan moved closer to where the creepers were coming from and saw a strange tendril with a large bulb near it and as soon as he shot at it more creepers tried swarming them.

Logan threw a grenade and after fighting off the creepers he ordered them all to target the bulb, once it was blown off the wall with a sickening stench coming from it. A loud screech could be hear coming from the Thorian. The fighting got more intense as dozens of creepers rushed out to greet them and the green asari was back, the team fought though them taking hits from the creepers, but the real danger was from the green asari. The team had destroyed two of those bulbs by now and still fighting though the muck.

Wrex was knocked down to his knees by the creepers and the asari and he had thought he was going to die, until he felt a human foot on his back and he turned his head just enough to see Logan using Wrex as a springboard, diving on the asari, Logan snapped one of her arms before he picked her up over his head and bought her back down snapping her back over one knee.

While Logan helped keep the creepers off Wrex, Tali gave Wrex some medi-gel to get him back on his feet. After taking all of them taking a beating they destroyed another tendril bulb.

"Should be nearly dead now" Wrex said as he looked at the rest of them, all covered in a mixture of blood, dirt and Thorian…slime.

"Hope so" Logan said.

The last bulb was the hardest, as creepers filled the hallways and that asari was back again, Tali took a bad hit to her mask and had to preform emergency repairs, Garrus was thrown against a wall with biotics, Wrex was covered in creepers as he tried to throw them off him, Ashley had a bad cut over one eye and Kaidan was walking with a limp while Liara was nursing her left arm while shooting with her right.

After minutes of intense fighting the last creeper was down and the asari had been torn apart by biotics from Liara and Wrex. The bulb was destroyed and with it sent the Thorian falling hundreds of feet to the bottom of the pit underneath Zhu's Hope.

An asari with the same markings as the green asari could be seen emerging from a part of the dead plant, only this asari was purple not green.

"I'm free. I'm free" the asari said still unsteady on her feet "I...I suppose I should thank you for releasing me"

Logan looked at her "How do I know this isn't a trick? I had killed you more than once today"

'It is no trick. The Thorian is dead and I am myself again" The asari explained "my name is Shiala. I serve…I served Matriarch Benezia. When she sided with Saren, so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way" Shiala explained.

Logan raised an eyebrow "He tricked her? How exactly did he manage that?"

"Benezia underestimated Saren. As did I. We came to believe in his cause and goals. The strength of his influence is troubling" Shiala told him.

"Benezia hoped to turn the river but instead was swept away" Liara explained sounding slightly happier about the fact her mother did not join Saren for the wrong reasons.

Wrex shook his head and scoffed "About time asari meddling bit them in the ass"

"Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?" Logan asked not quite convinced.

"Saren has a vessel. An enormous warship unlike anything I have ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute" Shiala explained as she paced back and forth before stopping to look at Logan and the others "I was a willing slave when Saren bought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets" Shiala said looking almost ashamed "Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian"

Logan didn't seem to care much "That's what you get for trusting Saren"

Shiala looked down at her feet "Saren is quick to betray his followers and his allies. Once he had what he needed, he ordered the geth to destroy the Thorian. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not get the Cipher"

Logan took a glance at Liara who merely shook her head telling him she didn't know what it was either "What is the Cipher. And why does Saren need it?"

Shiala sighed but answered "The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions. But the visions are unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their history, their culture, their very existence" Shiala explained taking her time to study the rest of them "The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it"

Logan looked like he was getting annoyed "Enough mystic shit. Where is the Cipher?"

Shiala kept her composure but only because she had been a commando for hundreds of years by this point "The Cipher is the very existence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like explaining colour to a creature without eyes" Shiala calmly explained "To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory - the Cipher - when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists"

Logan stepped forward "You taught Saren. You can teach me" he said ignoring his own memory of the last time an asari was in his mind.

Shiala could almost sense his uneasiness with what he just suggested to make sure she explained in clear details what it would take "There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind into yours, as I did with Saren"

Logan nodded "Do it" he said simply.

Liara had wanted to meld with Logan and it upset her slightly, it would not be her in his mind but Shiala. She ignored the feeling though as she knew they had to have this Cipher. She just hoped it wouldn't make him relive painful memories.

Shiala nodded and walked closer, she could almost feel the tension coming off him "Try to relax Commander. Slow, deep breathes. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another" Shiala said walking closer to him, she could tell her words were calmed him "Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another's mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit" Shiala said as she was now close to the human "We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander"

Shiala said as she was now close enough to hear his heartbeat "Embrace eternity!"

Once inside his mind she saw a brief flash of another asari causing him pain as she violated his mind. Shiala understood why he was so nervous but used her connection with him to calm him down, as she saw the vision from Eden Prime and she gave him the Cipher, she understood that Saren had to be stopped, not matter the cost and she also realized that she had helped him, despite what she had done to this colony, her greatest crime was helping Saren. Shiala could feel Logan's mind opening up to her just enough for her to implant the Cipher, he couldn't keep his whole mind from her though and as a result she could see parts of his life and the slight massage she got from his mind, it was not unpleasant, she could tell he had never spent any time in allowing another into his mind but he was only focused on the Cipher, to Shiala's slight disappointment.

The vision from Eden Prime played in both of their minds; well in Logan's mind but Shiala saw it as well. The vision was clearer now, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to see. Images of Protheans being torn apart by synthetics, the feeling of pain and loss was sickening, in fact if the two commandos' had not seen so much death and combat, their minds would not have been able to take it. At the end of the vision, a new image, one of a… bug or synthetic creature before they saw nothing.

Once it was over Shiala stepped back her mind still processing what she had seen. Logan opened his eyes as well, the two of them shared a look that they knew what was coming.

"I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now" Shiala explained.

Liara looked at Logan "Are you ok Commander you look….pale"

Logan nodded "I saw…I'm not sure what I saw, it didn't make a lot of sense"

Shiala nodded "You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process the information"

Garrus looked at the Commander; he didn't look that good "We should get Chakwas to have a look at you"

Shiala didn't know what would happen to her at this point but she would face whatever punishment was coming, she did not wish however to hurt the human "I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher. In time, it will help you understand the vision from the beacon"

"What should I do with you?" Logan asked removing his pistol.

Shiala took a deep breath "If you would allow it I wish to stay here, these colonists have suffered greatly, and I played a hand in their suffering. I wish to make a amends"

Logan looked at her "You sided with Saren, as far as I know you still are. It would be a huge risk for me to just leave you here"

Shiala understood what he was saying but if he expected her to beg for her life or for forgiveness, he wouldn't get it. Instead she would face her punishment whether that would be quick and end with a bullet to her head or her helping Zhu's Hope in every way she could it didn't matter "Your suspicions are understandable. But you freed me from the Thorian, and from Saren. I am on your side now"

Logan studied her for a moment before turning to walk away "You can stay; I will expect you to keep your word. If I have to come back here because of you, I will scalp you" he warned.

Both asari took notice of his warning, to an asari there would be no worse way to die then being scalped, but while Liara shuddered from the idea of it Shiala simply bowed her head. After melding with him, she knew he would do exactly that and it was not an empty threat but Shiala did not make an empty promise.

"Thank you, I will not break my word" Shiala said.

As Logan and the others made their way out of the Thorian pit, Logan was drinking his water while the others stayed silent, unsure of what to say. Once back in Zhu's Hope, they could see the colonists walking around; some of them were being treated to. As they were leaving a kid walked up to Tali, the young boy was holding a toy ship.

"Excuse me" he called out and when Tali looked down at him he handed her the ship "thank you for helping us, I wanted to give you this, mummy says that quarians like ships"

Tali was confused and shook her head "That's all right you keep it"

The boy shook his head and looked upset "No. I want you to have it" he said placing it into her hand and running off before she could say anything else.

Logan smiled "Looks like you just got your pilgrimage gift" he joked.

Tali looked at the ship and placed it into her pocket "Well the fleet always did want new ships. But in all seriousness, it will be a good memento of what we did here"

Logan nodded "You did good work, all of you did"

**Normandy briefing room**

Logan had yet to see Dr Chakwas, he just needed to discuss what they had encountered at Zhu's Hope. After talking about the mission in general and the new fact of how Benezia joined Saren, the subject then turned towards the Cipher and if Logan could make any sense out of it and when he couldn't Liara offered to meld with him to help try and make sense of it.

"Do it, we don't have much time" Logan told her.

Liara stood up and walked closer to him "Embrace eternity" her eyes went black.

Liara like Shiala before her saw images of the asari who tortured him, but unlike Shiala, Logan never really closed his mind off almost as if he trusted Liara. She could also feel Logan getting excited at her touching his mind. She also saw why Logan had trouble sleeping; the images were intense and very graphic. Liara thought she was going to be sick.

Logan had thought he would know what to expect after Shiala had shown him that an asari mind meld did not have to be painful and even felt Shiala calm him down, he was not prepared for the meld with Liara to feel so….good, he even started to get hard from her touch. After a few moments Liara stepped back and looked sick.

After saying that the images were intense and sounding a little impressed with him, but sadly nothing new yet. After dismissing everyone, Logan called the Council.

"Commander. ExoGeni should have told us about the Thorian. It would have saved you a lot of trouble, shame you had to kill it though, it would have been interesting to study" Councillor Valern said. Logan had recently made sure to remember their names.

"The only reason to study something like that is to work out the best way of killing it" Logan said simply.

'Yes. Kill it. That's what humans do to things that don't understand isn't it?" Sparatus interjected.

Logan looked up at the turian councillor "Are for forgetting how your people met mine? Seems to me you have selective memory" Logan replied back. He really didn't like him "besides the Thorian wasn't complex, it enslaved the colonists and forced them to fight and even send their own children into combat. It would have done the same to any species that came in contact with it"

Valern nodded 'Well, perhaps it was for the best then. At least you saved the colony…"

Sparatus scoffed at that point "Of course he did. Shepard would do anything to save a human colony"

Logan shook his head "So you would of rather I gunned down civilians when I had a way around it? They had no training, no hard suits and were no match for a N7 or anyone for that matter with combat experience, they were barely holding against the geth. But point taken councillor if I ever have to go to a turian colony, I will keep that in mind. I can't believe this shit; I saved a colony AND completed my mission and you're bitching about it? Wake up and smell what you are shovelling. Joker end transmission"

Joker chuckled "Looks like we had a bad connection"


	21. Chapter 20: With friends like these

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan deals with the aftermath of Feros and while on shore leave meets up with some old friends and someone he wished had stayed in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, busy studying. If you want to know what Logan is talking about listen to this song ONLY when you see this (*) Enjoy

After hanging up on the Council Logan had gone to the med-bay and got his wounds looked at, he was sitting there in silence, just thinking about Feros and those colonists. Still pissed off about the Council he sat there while the others talked among themselves, he could feel that Liara was looking at him, most likely to say something to him, probably about the meld. Truth was Logan was over it, while he didn't hate it and knew that Liara and Shiala for that matter had been gentle with him, he had finally gotten over what Zorilla did to him thanks in part to Liara and Shiala to a lesser degree but the visions were worse now in the fact they were getting clearer which made them harder to deal with.

"Thanks doc" Logan told Chakwas as he stood up "we are heading to the Citadel for a resupply and shore leave. Make sure you get out and get some leave too doc"

"You're welcome and I will" Chakwas said studying her patient "are you ok Commander?"

"Yeah just that vision is getting clearer now, it's not...pleasant, I will be fine though" Logan answered. As he left the med-bay and the others who were still talking, he grabbed a banana to eat as he made his way to the cockpit saying hi to a few crew members as he passed.

"Pressley set a course for the Citadel we need to restock and some shore leave wouldn't hurt the crew either"

"Aye, aye Commander" came the response from the navigator.

Logan nodded and went to see Joker.

"Hey Commander, next time we land on a colony, try not to take us to a colony full of mutant zombies, just for future reference" Joker joked.

Logan laughed "Oh yeah I'll just get out a my crystal ball before we land anywhere from now on"

Joker laughed "So we are getting so shore leave huh? About time, the Normandy needs some work down to her, nothing major just some minor details"

Logan nodded "Well she will get them soon enough"

After he finished talking with Joker, Logan went to speak with Kaidan and the two of them ended up playing poker into the late hours of the night.

Tali had gotten her suit patched up and went back to work in the engine room. She had told Adams she was ready to get back to work and he let her seeing how the Citadel was their next stop. She had no idea a ground fight could get so nasty, she found she had a new apperception for the Marines on the fleet. Tali had managed to half crawl into a vent when Ashley came in to see her.

"Hey Tali" Ashley said.

Tali slid back out from the vent and stood up wiping her hands "Hello, did you need something?"

Ashley shook her head "I just wanted to let you know that you did well down there, that Thorian put up one hell of a fight"

Tali looked at the human woman and studied her for a moment "Thank you. Are all ground fights that bad?"

Ashley shook her head "No that was tough, but you did well and even saved my life a couple of times"

Tali smiled, not that Ashley would of seen it "Thanks but you did the same for me so we are even"

Ashley smiled "I was surprised at how well you handled yourself, it being your first time in a hot zone and all. Just so you know you won't have any problems from me if we go groundside together, I'll have your back"

Tali nodded "And I'll have yours"

Ashley nodded before she turned to leave "Now I got to go thank Garrus, I gave him a bit of a hard time and well I was a bitch to him and he too saved my life"

Tali chuckled "Well I remember you got those creepers off him so don't feel too bad"

Ashley smiled "Yeah I did but I still was a jerk to him"

Tali watched her go before she went back to her work.

Over the next few days as they were heading back to the Citadel, Logan spent his time in his cabin writing reports and just focusing on his duties. Not spending much if any time around the crew unless needed, thinking there would be time for that once they reached the Citadel and finally got off this ship, as everyone was starting to get stir crazy. He did however still have talks with the crew all except Liara; he didn't really know what to say to her. He knew she would have seen something when she did the mind meld but he didn't know what and since she didn't really leave her room, he had thought he had scared her off.

Truth was Liara was not scared off. In fact just the opposite and couldn't help but feel as if he was more interested in Ashley Williams who he had spent some time around since Feros. She was about to go and find him and force him to talk to her but Joker announced that they had reached the Citadel.

As Liara and the others made their way to get off the ship they found Logan waiting for them. He gave them a time to back on the ship or it would leave without them before he invited the ground team to Chora's Den for drinks.

As they all made their way off the ship they saw an Alliance Admiral waiting for them. As soon as Kaidan and Ashley saw him they saluted.

"Attention hut" Kaidan said snapping to a crisp salute.

"At ease" He said as he saluted back and stepped forward "Rear Admiral Mikhailovich Fifth Fleet"

Shepard looked at him and saluted nowhere near with the same level of enthusiasm that Kaidan or Ashley had though "Commander Shepard, SSV Normandy"

The Admiral raised an eyebrow "You have no idea who I am do you Commander? I command the 63rd Scout Flotilla. You and the Normandy were slated for my unit after shakedown, until the Council got their paws, claws, tentacles whatever, they got them on our ship, and you"

"I go where I am told Admiral. They tell me they want me as a Spectre then that's what I do" Logan said cracking his neck "besides I can now bring Alliance issues to the Council if needed"

Rear Admiral Mikhailovich smirked "You still remember what colour your blood is Shepard? I don't begrudge the politics decision to throw you to the Council, its opportunity. I do begrudge this overdesigned piece of tin though"

Logan stood up right then "The Normandy is a fine ship sir. She has served us well so far"

Rear Admiral Mikhailovich shook his head "It is a gimmick Commander, useless in a stand up fight. This experiment diverted billions, for the same price we could have had a heavy Cruiser, but no we had to play nice with the turians and throw money at a co-developed boondoggle. I am here to make an inspection, the Normandy is an Alliance warship and I intend to see she is up to snuff"

Logan sighed he knew this would be coming sooner or later "Please do, I would be happy to show it to you" he stepped out of the way to allow him to pass.

'I just bet" The Admiral said before walking past Logan and the others "wait here"

Logan looked at his crew "Don't worry I am in charge of this ship and I say who is allowed on board" he told the alien crew once he noticed they looked nervous, well except for Wrex.

After twenty minutes of waiting the Admiral returned "Commander I am not happy"

"I just bet" Logan said mirroring what the Admiral had said to him "I get the feeling that happens a lot?"

Mikhailovich frowned at Logan "I suggest you secure that mouth Commander, it will get you into trouble. Who designed that CIC? Putting the Commander Aft behind everyone else is inefficient. What if you need to discuss something with the officers towards the bow?"

"Turian design. They prefer their officers being able to overlook their subordinates, the Alliance was interested to see if it would offer any improvements" Logan answered.

"Hmm, yes I can see how that might help, but they really need to of studied that in a lab not on a front line warship" Mikhailovich answered before looking at his data pad for the next issue he had found "I had to shake my head at that oversized drive core. 120 billion credits of element zero just to make this thing not give itself away? Do you realise we could have had made drive cores for twelve thousand fights for that much? What good is it to hide for a few hours anyway?"

Logan tried hard not to give a smart ass remark and almost succeeded "Men of limited vision once said the same thing about the early stealth planes, boats and tanks"

Mikhailovich raised his eyebrows at that "There are two ways I can take that Commander but I suppose you are right. The early U-boats weren't much better" Mikhailovich said before he took a look at the crew standing beside him "And we need to talk about your crew Commander, krogan? Quarian? Asari? Turians? What were you thinking Commander? You can allow alien nationals free access to Alliance equipment"

Logan looked at the alien crew mates he had gathered "The quarian is a talented engineer and has more experience with the geth than any Alliance engineer and has huge help to the engineering team. Her name is Tali Zorah" Logan said pointing to her, which Tali just nodded. Logan wanted to let the Admiral know that the aliens in question were standing right there.

"As for the asari her name is Liara T'soni and is a powerful biotic not bad of a shot with a pistol and has had over fifty years' experience in studying the Protheans, I was not aware of anyone in the Alliance that could cover those three bases" Logan said interacting to Liara.

Mikhailovich frowned "Fifty years? No I don't imagine we do have anyone with that amount of experience"

"The turian name is Garrus Vakarian is respected in C-Sec, an excellent sniper and as long as he is on board, stops the other turians thinking this is a witch hunt on top of that the turians would already know everything about this ship, I mean they helped build it after all" Logan said looking at Garrus and gave him a nod.

"And what about the krogan?" Mikhailovich asked.

Logan looked at Wrex and smirked slightly "Saren has quite a few krogan with him; Urdnot Wrex is a battlemaster and knows krogan tactics. I have to ask Admiral have you ever fought a krogan on the ground?" Logan asked before answering his own question "very tough, hard to kill and because of that they use different tactics to what any other races uses and if I am stepping up to fight an army it doesn't hurt to have a walking tank on your side"

Admiral Mikhailovich seemed to study each of them "Hmm very well anything else you would like to add Commander?"

Logan looked at his crew before turning back to the Admiral "The Normandy is a fine ship, the stealth systems have already proven extremely useful and can only be improved from here. The crew is the best of the best and every one of them deserve to be here"

Admiral Mikhailovich nodded "Very well, while I am not convinced this ship is not a waste of taxpayers' money I do know that you think otherwise and will use it to the best of its ability. I will submit my report, it will not be as negative as I was expecting. Good day Commander make us proud" Admiral Mikhailovich said as he saluted and walked away.

Logan shook his head before he hit the button for the elevator "Ass" he said to himself.

"Did you mean what you said Commander?" Tali had asked.

"Every word" Logan answered as the doors opened.

As they got on the elevator Liara looked at Ashley "Gunnery Chief Williams I have noticed that humans have both male and female soldiers is this common amongst humans?"

Ashley smirked "Wasn't always took us awhile to prove that we could do it though"

Logan nodded "Even longer for the tech to catch up too. Good thing too otherwise only the giants of the human race would be serving"

Ashley laughed "Yeah the big seven foot guys"

Liara seemed surprised that humans could get that big but before she could say anything Wrex cut her off.

"Never fought beside a female before, krogan women stay home and focus of reproduction" Wrex said.

Ashley's smile disappeared from her face "Well sorry to disappoint you Wrex but I am not one to stay at home" she said as the elevator slowed as it neared the bottom.

"Not disappointed, I could get used to it. Killing alongside a female gives the battles a new flavour" Wrex chuckled to himself.

Logan shook his head as the doors opened "Only a krogan would think battles have a flavour"

Wrex smirked and looked at Logan "Only a human would think they don't" he said laughing.

Logan laughed but stopped when he saw Khalisah al-Jilani a reporter well known in the Alliance and almost always has an agenda.

"Commander Shepard? Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund news. Would you answer a few questions for our viewers?" She asked.

Logan sighed "As long as you know, some answers maybe be classified and I won't be able to give them" he said.

"I'm sure our viewers would understand that" Khalisah said as she turned on her camera.

Once the light came on Logan stood up straight and looked straight ahead, he didn't like reporters and this one had a habit of pissing people off. She had been even punched on her own show before by the person she was interviewing.

"Humans have been trying to the respect of the galactic community for twenty six years. With that in mind what are your feelings on being named the first human Spectre?" Khalisah asked.

Logan thought about his answer for a moment before responding "The Spectre's represent the best the galaxy has to offer. It's an honour"

Khalisah tried to blind side him with the next question "Some of said it is the Citadel 'throwing humans a bone" Have you ever been in a situation where the Citadel's needs before the needs of Earth?"

Logan sighed, he was getting sick of this line of thinking humans seemed to have "The Council is concerned with the needs of the whole galactic community; we are a part of that now. Our needs are a part of that but they are one of many. Not many realize this but Spectre's would have likely been protecting Earth ever since we came to the Citadel, we just have one of our own in their ranks now"

"You really believe that don't you? Have you heard of any examples that Spectres have done to protect Earth?" Khalisah asked acting as if she had caught him out on something.

Logan shook his head "I said **likely** , what they have or haven't done I couldn't tell you, or what past missions they have completed if any at all. We don't have meetings with one another after all"

Khalisah seemed disappointed with that "You have been given command of an advance human warship. Is there anything you would like to say about it?"

Logan nodded "The Normandy is a fine ship, but I cannot tell you anything about it I'm afraid. I sure you could ask the Alliance for details on it and they would likely say the same thing as I just did"

Khalisah frowned and tried a different tactic "Do you think it was appropriate to hand over the most advanced warship over to the Citadel?" Khalisah asked still trying to trip him up.

Logan chuckled at that making it clear he thought very little of her "I was not aware that it was 'handed over' to anyone. I am in command and I am human"

Khalisah was fighting hard to hide her contempt for the Commander from showing "Human yes, but you work for the Citadel now" Khalisah then quickly changed subjects before he could say anything about that last remark "one last question Commander. Rumours back home say that you are tracking a Rogue Spectre named Saren. Any comment on that?"

Logan shook his head "I can't tell you about my ship but you think I can tell you what I am doing? I cannot comment on what my current assignment may or may not be. I would have thought you knew how this sort of thing works Khalisah?" Logan said as the lights on the camera went off.

"Don't worry we will find out. Earth is watching you Commander. Don't let us down" Khalisah said before she walked away.

Logan watched as she walked away "She is going to be a problem, I can just tell"

Garrus smirked "You do seem to have a way with reporters Commander"

Logan chuckled at that as they made their way towards a rapid transit "Yeah well after Torfan, I haven't been the most popular Commander around"

"What happened on Torfan?" Tali asked as they waited.

"Commander Shepard kicked ass that's what" said a male voice from behind the group.

As Logan turned around he could see Wesley Callaway walking towards him with a slight limp, he was wearing a C-Sec uniform.

"Wesley? What are you doing here?" Logan asked as he shook the man's hand.

"I got a job here after I was injured Anderson helped set it up. Now I just watch the Council through a high powered scope. I saw you become a Spectre though my scope too, congrats" Wesley explained.

"Thanks" Logan said.

"You're a C-Sec Council sniper guard?" Garrus asked sounding impressed.

Wesley looked at Garrus, if he showed any surprise at Logan working with a turian he didn't show it "Yeah, I can't run that well anymore but I still can shot a rifle well enough and it beats sitting behind a desk or collecting a pension"

Wrex looked the human up and down "How did you get hurt?" he asked.

Logan looked at Wrex "Elcor heavy, shot him to bits during the Blitz. He is lucky to be alive"

Wesley shook his head "Wrong. Luck had nothing to do with it; I would have been dead if the Commander didn't take that elcor out with a knife of all things"

"So this is the famous Commander Shepard?" a female voice asked.

A female turian walked over to them and put her arm around Wesley "It is an honour to meet you Commander. I am Dexiia Barrian, Wesley's wife" she said introducing herself.

Logan raised an eyebrow but shook her hand anyway "You seem surprised Commander?" Wesley asked.

Logan chuckled "Yeah I just remember you, not trusting no-humans that much" he said trying to not to sound like Wesley was a xenophobe, which at the time he was.

"I was a xenophobe, I know that now" He said with a slight shame in his voice "But after I came here and I met Dex here it was hard to stay that way you know? Besides I am one of the few humans in C-Sec being like that would not make me very well liked" he said chuckling.

"I had to keep a few other turians from shutting that mouth of his a few times" Dex said wrapping her arm around him "I knew he was injured in the Blitz so I cut him some slack. Besides it was more ignorance than hatred"

Wesley smiled "Yeah it wasn't until she saw me freeze up when a elcor diplomat walked past she knew what had happened" he said kissing her cheek "of course now I am hated by other turians because I am dating one" he said laughing "They really don't like that"

Dex flicked her mandibles "Well my parents like you anyway"

Logan smiled "I am happy for you, we will have to catch up some time" he told them and explained that they were on shore leave right now and needed to unwind but Logan told them he would make sure to visit afterwards and the crew was even invited for dinner.

After they had left them behind and made their way to Chora's Den. As they got out of the transit Logan saw a man he had not seen in over ten years. Finch, the Tenth Street Red, one of the most ruthless gangsters Logan has ever met.

Logan looked at the rest of his crew "Let me do the talking and don't say anything" Logan warned as he turned and walked closer to Finch.

"Iceman? Long-time no see" Finch called out and shook his head "They told me it was you. Shepard grew up and turned into a soldier"

Logan knew Finch had to of been here for a reason but he needed to know why. For that reason he acted like he was seeing an old friend, when in fact Logan felt his skin crawl just being this close to him.

"Finch? Long time" Logan asked shaking his hand.

Finch smirked "I am surprised you recognised me. None of the vids mention your time in the Red's"

Logan looked at Finch "The vids don't show everything, besides real men don't talk"

Finch smiled "Fair enough. Word is that you are in good with the aliens now. We wanted you to do a little favour for us, for old time's sake"

Logan knew Finch was threatening him but what he really wanted to know was why.

What Finch said next confirmed it "One of the Red's, Curt Weisman got picked by turians. We'd like you to talk to the turian in there and get Curt out"

Logan frowned "How did that happen?"

Finch smirked slightly "Well he may have been carrying a little red sand at the time. You know how turians are?"

Logan scratched his nose "Want were the reds doing in turian space? Turians don't use red sand"

Finch smiled "Oh we have expended since your days and turians don't but volus love to buy it, then they sell it themselves"

Logan nodded "I'll go see him now" Logan said before turning and walking away.

The others stayed quiet but Logan could feel that they wanted to ask him questions, but he wanted to get to the bottom of this first "Finch is a hard core gang member if he is here than the rest of the Reds would be as well. Better to find out now than later what he is up to" Logan explained.

Garrus nodded "Volus would buy red sand but he wouldn't need to go through turian space to sell it to them. He is lying Commander"

Logan nodded "Find out soon enough" Logan said as they entered the club and made their way over to the guard.

"Spectre Logan Shepard, I understand you have a human prisoner in custody, a Curt Weisman. I want to know why he was arrested for" Logan said.

The turian didn't seem to like the introduction very much "The xenophobe? The human acknowledged his affiliations with several anti-alien organisations"

Logan looked at the guard "Speak plainly. What was he arrested for?"

The turian now understood that Logan was asking for a reason "His crime specifically targeted turians as a species. It was a hate crime and will treated as such at his sentencing"

Logan nodded "What crime did he commit?"

The guard relaxed and answered without looking at his Omni-tool which told Logan it was worse than he had first thought "he attempted to poison medical cargo being sent to a turian colony to treat an outbreak of a dangerous disease. If he had succeeded millions would have died. This human is a dangerous xenophobe"

Logan was shocked, that was a lot worse than he thought. When he was a part of the Reds, they were criminal's sure, brutal gangsters but terrorists? "What sentence is Weisman likely to receive?"

The guard studied Logan's reaction at first before answering "Considering that he attempted to commit a xenophobic hate crime. I would expect him to receive a lifetime sentence"

Logan nodded "Thanks for the information. One of Weisman's friends was less than honest with me"

The turian nodded "I understand. Weisman was too well supplied to be acting alone. Thank you for the information. We will increase the guard detail on his cell"

"I knew you would rat us out Shepard! Now it's payback time" Finch yelled from behind "When we're through telling our story, the aliens will all know what the first human Spectre really is"

Logan pulled his gun out and looked at it "Finch you never were that smart. I can legally execute every person in this bar, you really think they will care that I ran with gangs?"

Finch took a step back "You wouldn't, this is your career"

The turian guard spoke up at that point "The turians won't. The Commander left a troubled childhood to lead a promising military career, I doubt you can say that same. And I highly doubt the asari or the salarians will believe your story either"

Finch shook his head and went to walk away "Fine, we will just see then won't we" he took two steps before Logan shot him in the back of the leg.

Logan walked over and stood over him while Finch held his knee "Andrew Finch, by the order of the Council I am sentencing you for crimes against the Council races including: blackmail of a Spectre, selling of a prohibited substance in Council space, masterminding a terrorist action on an Alliance ally, treason of both the Alliance and the Council and the murder of a child" Logan all but snarled "any last words?"

Finch had stopped screaming in pain and looked up at Logan "You think that killing me will stop it? How many did you murder? How much red sand did you sell huh? Do you think these aliens know about the people you robbed? Or how you were able to afford to go to school? Truth is Ramon paid for it, a gang member paid for it. The only father you ever had and how did you repay him? You gave him wings!" Finch screamed, by now everyone in the bar was listening "Tell your asari slut how many of her kind you gunned down in a bar just like this one" Finch looked around at the aliens now watching him "that's right asari don't give him a lap dance the last one that did, Shepard here, shot her half a dozen times through the legs, before he then shot into a crowded club. I didn't call you Iceman because you're a nice guy you know, you stabbed people, shot them, robbed alien tourists at gun point. Hell I remember that kid you stabbed to death with that knife that you still carry, the same knife you used to kill Ramon" Finch snarled.

Logan's face was unreadable; calmly he lifted the gun and shot Finch again this time in the face. Logan then looked at the turian guard "Contact the Alliance. The people you are looking for are a human gang by the name of the Reds. They are on Earth and this won't stop them"

The turian guard nodded and walked away.

Putting his gun away Logan sighed and looked around at the staring faces and after a second everyone went back to what they were doing.

Logan sat down at a table his head in his hands, his past had caught up with him "Ashley get some drinks I want everyone to listen to this" he told her.

Once a few bottles were bought back to the table Logan looked up at his crew "I think it's time you all know the truth"

The rest of them were quiet and then Logan begun his story "I was found not long after birth, in a dumpster, my mother had placed me there not long after birth and left me to die" Logan said his voice remaining calm and steady giving no hint of his emotions. "If I was krogan I guess I would be called clan less"

Wrex spoke up at that point "Any female doing that to a child would be punished"

Logan nodded "Same with humans but she never stuck around to get any punishment. I was found by a trash collector by the name of John Logan Shepard" Logan said pouring himself a drink "He had left his name when he had dropped me off to the police, who I got my name from. The people running the orphanage though didn't like the name John so they made it my middle name instead"

Logan told them of Earth, and the high crime rates (*). He explained that the orphanage was abusive and that he ran as soon as he could. Surviving by stealing, picking food out of bins until he joined the Reds.

"I killed my first person at eight years old. I don't know what that means to aliens but to a human it is very young" Logan told them taking a drink

"I had thought you were a look out or something?" Garrus had asked.

Logan shook his head "Nah, the kids do that. Only the full members are looked after. To join I had to stand in the middle of a group of thirty kids all around the same age and stay standing for ten minutes while they beat the shit out of me"

"Keelah" Tali had remarked.

Logan looked down at his hands as if they were covered in blood "By the time I was sixteen I had killed sixty four people. Mostly gang members. I was the type of criminal that you would have loved to put a bullet in Garrus"

Garrus just listened, he had no idea "You were a professional criminal? I have trouble believing that"

Logan looked at Garrus with a snarl "And what do you know of survival huh? Have you ever struggled to eat? Picked food out of bins? Where if you couldn't steal something you would stave? What do you know about poverty? Ever lived on the streets? I had to eat and avoid being sold off as a slave, gang life protected me from that. When this is over you will go back to your family. The Alliance is my family now" Logan said before he calmed down again with a sigh.

Logan never left anything out explaining that the Reds didn't trust him due to him being a biotic. Telling them every crime he was involved in from robbing tourists at gun point, selling red sand and murdering rivals.

"Truth is if I met any of you back then, I would have tried to rob you" Logan said still avoiding looking any of them in the eyes.

Logan then told them of Ramon "He tried to give me to the Eclipse. Asari were interested in human biotics, I didn't find out what they would have done with me, didn't care either. The asari was a pretty one, a dancer and she knew how to use what she had" Logan said taking another drink "she hadn't been around humans for long and since she was sitting on my lap she thought I was getting excited" Logan then pulled out his pistol "it was this. When I knew why I was there I opened fire, must of shot her half dozen times at point blank range"

Logan knew that people were listening but he also knew that the Reds would bury his career now and it wouldn't be long before the Council had heard everything. So Logan was past the point of caring and told them everything.

"What did Finch mean by you gave Ramon 'wings'?" Liara asked, like the others she was shocked but a complete picture was coming into focus on what sort of man Logan was.

Logan sighed "When I got back after shooting up that Eclipse club, I found the Reds clubhouse on fire. Eclipse hit it hard, Ramon had sold out the Reds and me to the Eclipse. So we headed to his house and did what we did to all traitors" Logan looked up then and turned to Ashley "turn around Ashley" when she did Logan poked her shoulder blade with a finger "we stab you there hard enough to break bones, then we reach in and pull you lungs out to leave them hang there like a pair of wings"

The others looked like they were going to be sick, except Wrex who just nodded.

Ashley felt a chill run up her spine when he did that "Bit excessive isn't it?"

Logan nodded "Yeah well it's a gang not a charity" he said calmly before continuing his story "afterwards while Ramon was still screaming on the ground a young kid, I don't know how young but young, came out and asked for his dad, Ramon" Logan said not meeting their eyes again "Finch shot him like it was nothing. After that I couldn't be in the Reds any more, I left, went home had a shower and tried to get out of the city, just my luck though a cop had arrested me just as I was stealing a car"

Logan just sat in silence as they all just soaked in what he had said "You aren't that person anymore" Liara said and the others agreed.

Logan sighed and looked up at them "You sure about that? I do the same thing now when you think about it. I am just as sadistic to the enemies of the Alliance as I was to any gang members" Logan was about to say something else when his Omni-tool beeped; it was from the Council "well that was quick. I will catch up with you guys later I have to see the Council" Logan stood up and picked up his bottle "don't get up" he told them before he walked away and went to see the Council leaving his crew in the bar thinking one what he just told them.


	22. Chapter 22: Leopards and their spots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan finds out just how much the Council knows about him.

Chapter 31: Leopards and their spots

 

Logan walked into the Council chamber and sighed while waiting for the holograms of the Council to come to life. He was still drinking, he knew that that he would be arrested soon enough; after all you can’t just admit to killing sixty four people and get away with it.

Captain Anderson was there waiting for him, as well as Wesley Callaway and Matt Dinnie. Frowning Logan looked over his shoulder and saw his crew running up to him.

“What is going on?” Logan asked looking confused.

Anderson smiled “I heard what happened and I don’t care about who you were. I got together as many character witnesses as I could to speak on your behalf”

Logan looked at Wesley and Matt and nodding his head. Logan looked back at his crew, who held their heads up high as the Council’s holograms turned on.

Wrex chuckled and gently shoved Logan’s arm “You’re not facing this by yourself”

Garrus nodded “I have seen many criminals during C-Sec and you’re not one of them”

Liara smiled at Logan “I just hope we can help”

Logan just stared blankly at them; he didn’t know what to say. The Council seemed surprised to see that many people waiting along with him.

“Very well we can discuss this first” Tevos said, it was always hard to get a read on her but not impossible “we have heard troubling accounts of what occurred at Chora’s Den…”

Anderson held up his hand to speak “The Alliance did not know of Commander Shepard’s criminal past having said that we believe that Commander Shepard has paid for his crimes in full. He served during the Blitz, he fought on Torfan and he shared all information with the turians once it became clear what his past ties were doing in turian space. I have the information here and am offering the full support of the Alliance to hunt these criminals”

Sparatas looked confused “You would help us with this? They are humans hiding on your home world”

Anderson nodded “Udina is the Ambassador; he however has no say in military matters. Criminals like this cannot be allowed to roam free and they are now terrorists” Anderson said before looking at Logan “Commander Shepard didn’t know the Reds were involved and…”

Sparatas held up a hand “Do you think we never did our own research on the Commander?” he said leaning forward before looking over at Tevos who nodded.

Valern pointed behind Logan who turned and saw an asari walking towards them wearing combat armour with markings on her face.

“This is Tela Vasir, She was on Earth roughly fifteen years ago tracking weapon shipments. An Eclipse club by the name of Siren’s Call, I believe you know of the club” Tevos said with a slight smirk.

Logan frowned and looked at Tela Vasir “That was the club I shot my way out of”

Tela Vasir turned her head and looked Logan in the face with a slight smirk on her face

“I was caught in a restricted area when you started shooting” Tela said with a chuckle “I remember using the distraction of the gunshots to kill the merc who had spotted me. After running out into the bar area I saw you” Tela said still smirking “You had shot that one asari before you opened fire on the others and started running, I repaid the favour by throwing you out the window”

Logan blinked shocked “That was you?”

Tela laughed out loud “You think anyone else would have been that gentle? They would have thrown you so hard it would of shattered bones”

Logan shrugged “I never thought about it to be honest”

Tevos tilted her head up “She made a report and I told her to watch you”

Logan thought back and nodded, trying to think of how long they would have been following him “Why though?”

Tela looked at Logan “Not many people can shoot their way out an Eclipse stronghold even if it is on their home world. Didn’t Nihlus ever tell you? Spectre’s are not trained they are born. I believe Captain Anderson even told you that we would have been watching you for years”

Logan frowned “So every Spectre has been studied like this?”

Tela shook her head “No of course not, only the ones that impress us”

Logan looked back up at the Council “So what does this have to do with my history with the Reds?”

Sparatas nodded “We knew about your criminal history, I understand that humans often during times of war allow criminals to serve?”

Anderson nodded “Yes but we didn’t know about the Blitz at the time” while wondering not for the first time just how much research the Council had done on humans.

Sparatas nodded “If humans didn’t have the Blitz, you would be up on charges right now” Sparatas said glaring at Logan “But your kind did go through the Blitz, and you have served with loyalty and saved the lives of not only your own people but others as well”

Valern nodded “Although we did not know that your former gang was now a terrorist group”

Garrus stepped forward “I am former C-Sec investigator; I have met many terrorists, gangsters and other criminals. I can say for sure that the Commander is not any of those things anymore”

Sparatas nodded “Anyone else got anything to add?”

Wesley stepped forward “I am a part of your sniper guard, I have watched all of you make difficult choices but keeping the Commander as a Spectre is not one of them. I know the Commander perhaps better than anyone here, he saved my life. He has a focus that you need in that line of work, I know that he will never stop until his mission is complete no matter the cost. Yes he can be brutal and very sadistic to his enemies but your enemies are his enemies now. This is a man that you can trust to get a job done if failure is not an option”

Matthew Dinnie stepped forward “The Commander has had plenty of chances to betray the Alliance and he never has. I first meet him in a medical unit after he was tortured and snapped his own wrists to avoid talking, I ask you to think of that for a moment. He could have talked, in fact if he did he wouldn’t have been tortured for as long he was. I was there when they wheeled him in, those slavers did a number on him and he gave them nothing” Matt said looking over at Logan “I was with him when he tracked the man down who placed a bounty on his head. Since he set fire to the slaver who did it I have not heard of a single bounty being placed on any Alliance soldier since”

Logan smiled to himself and looked at the Council who asked if he had anything to add.

“There was a reason you made me a Spectre, don’t forget that it was a turian Spectre who put my name forward. As for the Reds now being a terrorist group, it was ten years ago when I was a member. Once I am done hunting Saren I will head to Earth and burn this whole group to nothing” Logan said looking up at Sparatas “but first I need to finish cleaning your house before I go clean mine” he said.

Sparatas glared back at Logan but before he could say anything Valern nodded and spoke while shooting Sparatas a look “Very good. Now if you can ask your friends to leave we have other matters to discuss with you”

Tela Vasir winked and turned and walked away as did the others after telling Logan they would catch up with him later.

Anderson nodded and left as well. Logan watched them leave before he turned back to the Council “So what’s so important you needed to talk to me about?” he asked.

Tevos nodded “We asked you here to speak with us without the risk of you hanging up on us, this is far too important” she said sounding more than a little annoyed.

Logan raised his eyebrow “Oh and what would that be?”

Valern looked down, clearly reading a report “We have received an urgent message from one of our infiltration units in the Traverse”

Logan chuckled before shaking his head “You mean spies”

Valern looked over at Tevos who seemed to sigh “Spectres tend to attract attention Commander. They are only one arm of the Council. Special task groups are often a better option for monitoring developing situations”

Logan held up his hand “I know that, I was clarifying besides you salarians really need to just call things what they are” he said chuckling to himself, he was a little tipsy but sober enough to pay attention and listen but not sober enough not to give them a hard time.

Valern nodded “We currently have several infiltration units scatted throughout the border regions of Citadel space” he said completely ignoring what Logan just said about calling them spies.

Might be a salarian thing, call something an infiltration unit and it sounds less threatening then a spy team, also gives them a way out Logan thought.

“This particular unit was gathering Intel on Saren” Valern said.

Logan sobered up almost right away at that news “What did they find?”

“Unfortunately the message we received was little more than static. The Infiltration team must be in a situation where they can’t set up proper interstellar communications. But the message was sent on a channel reserved for mission critical communications” Valern answered before looking back up at Logan “whatever they were trying to tell us we know it was important. Considering your interest in Saren, we thought you might want to investigate this, find out what happened to our team. The signal originated from the planet Virmire”

Logan nodded “I’ll look into it”

“The Council prefers not to become involved in the specifics of Spectre activities. We only want you to be aware of all your options including Virmire. Good luck Commander Shepard we will keep you advised if you learn of anything else” Tevos said once again trying to get some distance from the fallout of Shepard’s actions.

“Oh one more thing” Logan said before they went “the batarians that may have been funded by the Hegemony, made an attack on a human colony”

Sparatas flicked his mandibles “And you have evidence of this? We can’t just act on your word”

Logan shook his head “No and I don’t expect you too, however I suggest the Council uses one of those infiltration units to investigate, either they were funded by the Hegemony and it was an act of war or they weren’t and it was an act of terrorism” he said but when Sparatas looked like he was going to say something Logan cut him off with “they tried to drop a asteroid on the colony and made threats against humans and the Council races who they think turned their backs on them”

Tevos looked shocked and glanced at Sparatas and then Valern “That is a war crime...I cannot imagine they would go to such lengths”

Logan nodded “Well they did, it was a human colony today it might be one of yours next time” he said looking at them “they hate humans but they look at your races as traitors” he said and left the warning in the air. It wasn’t long before Sparatas spoke.

“We will increase patrols and look into this” Sparatas said looking at Valern.

Logan nodded “Good. I’ll let you know what I find on Virmire” he said and went to walk away.

“I hope you realize that we have given you a second chance. Not everyone gets a second chance” Sparatas said out to him as if he wanted to put Logan in his place.

The other two Councillors looked at Sparatas silently wondering why he would have said that and what exactly his problem with the Commander was.

Logan turned back around and keeping his voice calm “I realize that I am far more useful to the Council on your side then hunting Saren on my own. I realize that I am hunting a turian who has never hid his hatred of humans and not once was investigated because he was a Spectre and was getting the job done. I realize that he has now betrayed the Council, something if you were doing your job you would have seen coming and now is starting his own personal war with humans. I realize that while I may think of you are an asshole and while Saren is a mass murdering psychopath, I know for a fact that not all turians are like those two examples you have been kind enough to show me” Logan said emotionless as he stared at Sparatas “I know what I am, maybe it is time for you to accept it. I am a human who has few skills, I am not the smartest guy in the universe but what I do better than almost anyone is hunt, hurt and kill people who decide that they don’t have to play by the rules. If you need someone bought in alive or unharmed, I am not the guy for the job but if you need someone dead no matter the cost” Logan turned and started to walk away with his back to the Council he said “give me a call”

Logan walked out of the Council Chambers and saw Tela Vasir waiting for him “Don’t think I have heard anyone say that to the Council before” she said.

Logan looked at her “Look thanks for your help but if Saren is a friend of yours you’re not going to like me very much”

Tela smirked and shook her head “What? No fuck him” she said noticing Shepard’s crew close by “I was friends with Nihlus though and I am just glad that Saren will get what’s coming to him”  
Logan smirked softly “Count on it” he saw his crew walking closer to him “Well it was good to meet another Spectre that isn’t trying to kill me” Logan shook her hand and watched her walk away, while thinking back to that night on Earth and he knew she saved his life.

Logan walked closer to his crew while he could see Anderson getting yelled at by Udina. Anderson glanced over at Logan and waved him over. Logan shook the hands of Matthew Dinnie and Wesley Callaway thanking them for their help before speaking with his crew.

“Thanks guys I mean it” Logan said smiling slightly “It’s kind of weird now that you know what happened before I joined the Alliance”

Liara smiled “It never bothered me” she said holding eye contact with him, which Logan kept eye contact with her for a few moments before he turned away.

“Well there are a few things I need to do. All of you enjoy your shore leave” Logan said looking at all of them.

Logan walked to Anderson and waited quietly while Udina finished yelling at Anderson “I am the Ambassador Captain not you I should of been notified of this meeting”

Anderson nodded “This meeting had more to do with Commander Shepard and Alliance not you. I will keep that in mind next time”

Udina shook his head “Everything has to do with me Captain it is time you learn that”

Logan cleared his throat “Do you mind Udina? I have business to talk about”

Udina looked at Logan with an angry glare “I am the ambassador I must be involved” he said crossing his arms.

Logan looked at Udina “Ok fair enough. ExoGeni broke the law and preformed experiments on humans and when they were caught they tried to ‘purge’ the colony. I want to know what you are intending to do about it?” Logan asked.

Udina cleared his throat “Do you have evidence?”

Logan looked at him “Yeah. I am a Spectre and I am telling you it happened. You want me to do my job, well I am doing it, you either do something about them or I will” Logan left the threat hang in the air.

Udina frowned “You can’t just….”

Anderson smirked “Yes he can. He is Spectre remember? If any other Spectre saw what he did it could go very badly for us”

Logan looked over at Anderson “So you can either punish them or I will”

Udina looked at the both of them and swore before walking off.

Anderson watched as Udina walked away “He will be a problem” Anderson said before turning to Logan “Listen we need to talk. This is a bad hit to your name and the Alliance; we need some clean wins to give to the media”

Logan frowned “What do you mean?”

Anderson sighed “I believe you but many others won’t. Over the next few weeks your name will be dragged through the mud, your actions on Torfan and now the full story of your past coming to light, we will need some public wins to show to the Alliance brass and the media that you are not the same person”

Logan frowned “What about Eden Prime, Terra Nova and Feros?”

Anderson sighed “We can’t tell the media about those. Eden Prime, the public knows the geth and that you were there but not about the nukes. We are keeping Feros under wraps so only top brass will know about that one and same for Terra Nova”

Logan sighed “Fine, any ideas?”

Anderson nodded “I’ll let Hackett know to send you some details” Anderson said before shaking his hand.

He walked away and made sure he spoke with Admiral Kahoku about the marines he found on near the thresher maw nest with a beacon placed near it. Logan always liked Kahoku so Logan told him to keep him updated. Logan also spoke to a salarian about scanning the keepers for him, sounded easy enough and to be honest Logan wanted to know as well.

Afterwards Logan stopped by C-Sec Spectre requisitions and placed a large order and asked for a list of items that got him a dirty look from the turian behind the counter.

“I guess you could say I am baking for a friend” Logan explained with a slight smirk.

The turian nodded and looked at the list “That is some friend you have” the turian’s mandibles clicked together before he started making some notes on the computer “Well there is easier ways you know?”

Logan shook his head “And this friend may be prepared, so no I have to make it”

The officer took a look at the list again “Well the alcohol is easy enough you can buy that yourself, bread and jelly are the same. These human drugs, though you might have to ask a doctor for them and even then they may not have them, then the Kahje shellfish I can get for you, however it is a controlled substance so only you could buy it. It’s the this last item on the list that is a problem, being a prohibited substance makes it hard to get on the Citadel; you know how deadly they are to turians I take it?”

Logan gave him a look “Of course”

The officer nodded “Well I can point you to C-Sec but I am not touching it”

Logan frowned “It would be in a bag”

The officer shrugged his shoulders “Sorry Commander but that stuff gives me nightmares and any turian who knows what they do will tell you the same thing”

Logan shook his head “Fine” he said paying for the rest of the items and walking out and headed to Chora’s Den to get the alcohol that he needed. He also ended up speaking to the Consort and after speaking to an elcor diplomat on her behalf; Logan had forgotten how big they are. But he did find the elcor pleasant enough to talk to even more so after the last one he was this close to they were trying to kill one another he even ran into Liara and Tali on his way back to the Consort. Once back at the Consort he got his reward of a shiny trinket and ‘a gift of words’

“I see your skin, tough as the scales on any turian. Unyielding. A wall between you and everyone else. But you never hide your strength either, it serves you well. Terrifies your foes, few will stand against you. This may be who you are but it is not who you will become. It only forms the basis for your future greatness. Remember these words when doubt descends” The Consort Sha’ira said looking into Logan’s eyes, seemingly not noticing Liara and Tali staring holes in her from behind his back.

Logan nodded before having a look at the trinket she gave him “Thank you, you’re good” He said before turning to walk away.

Sha’ira watched as Tali followed after him and she watched as Liara started to turn to walk away “If you want him as your bond mate, you must be bold. He is attracted to strength and intelligence; I sense you have a rival for his attention and if you don’t tell him your rival will” she said without turning around.

Liara blinked unsure of what to say “If that is true then I am not what he is looking for”

Sha’ira turned her head and smirked “Are you sure about that?”

Liara frowned and thanked her and walked out.

Later that night, Logan and the crew had dinner with Wesley and his wife; a chance for a home cooked meal was not something any of them passed up. They seemed to get along well and made sure that the next time they were at the Citadel to stop in. His interview with Khalisah Al-Jilani also aired, it was made clear she was trying to smear the Commander’s name and sure enough she had found out what happened at Chora’s Den and ended the report with the question “Can humanity trust a career criminal like Shepard?”

Logan shook his head “I really don’t like that woman. I should of just punched her out”

Hackett later told him that the interview was good and that he was impressed with the level of restraint Logan had showed.

Argos Rho / Phoenix System / Tuntau

Two days later.

The Normandy had headed for the Argos Rho system since they were going past there, it was a short stop and since Wrex had wanted to go there to pick up his family’s armour and to be honest so did Logan wanted to visit the system after finding out he was invited to Pinnacle station to train. Remembering what Anderson told him patrolled the system and while they were over the planet Tuntau, Joker picked up signals indicting a pirate base.

Logan smiled and told Wrex and Ashley to get ready, once they landed in the Mako and had a quick scout around and even did a quick mining survey, which Logan thought should make the Alliance happy and picked up some asari writings that maybe Liara could make some use out of. Ashley could feel her lunch rising while Wrex seemed like he couldn’t wait to get out the Mako.

Logan looked at Ashley “I might have to see if the engineers can do anything so we can fit the whole ground team in here”

Ashley almost bit her tongue as the Mako went over a cliff “Fitting seven people in here might be tight fit Commander” she said as she closed her eyes trying to stop herself from throwing up as the Mako dropped over two hundred feet off a cliff and even spun in the air.

Logan nodded and looked as if he didn’t notice just how bad his driving really was “Would come in handy for when we catch up with Saren”

The Pirate base when they reached it was no match for two Alliance marines and a very pissed off krogan who tore into them like they were nothing. Logan had managed to corner a turian while the others dealt with rest of pirates, Logan didn’t kill the pirate though he wanted make sure it was Tonn Arctus and there was no point in killing him until they knew where the armour was.

“Yeah that’s him” Wrex said booting the turian in the face.

Logan looked at Ashley and shook his head, telling her not to get involved.

“Where is my armour?” Wrex asked aiming his shotgun at the pirate’s head.

“If I’ll tell you, you have to let me go” Tonn said looking from Wrex to Logan.

“If you don’t tell us, we will hurt you until you do” Logan said calmly.

Tonn looked back at Wrex and seemed to make his mind up quickly “Upstairs in a safe”  
Wrex smiled “Thank you” and pulled the trigger tearing the turian’s head off.

Logan shook his head and looked down at the turian “You know we should have seen if he was telling the truth first”

Wrex smirked as he walked upstairs “He was; only professionals and psychopaths can lie well enough for me not to tell. Our sense of smell and hearing is too good, so I could pick up things you humans just can’t, plus I have been doing this for longer than you have been alive”

Logan nodded “That should come in handy”

Wrex smirked when he saw the safe and got to work getting it open. Inside was an old krogan hard-suit that was battered but the look on Wrex’s face as he stared at the armour said it was what they were looking for.

“I can’t believe my ancestors used to wear this crap, but better in my hands then a turian’s” Wrex said with a strange look on his face.

Logan always found krogan hard to read “Glad we could get it back, now let’s move out”

Wrex nodded “Careful Shepard, I might just start to like you”

Logan smirked “Oh no we can’t have that, should I insult you now? You know to stop that from happening?” he joked.

Wrex chuckled “Humans” he said with a shake of his head and follow Ashley and Logan back out.


	23. Chapter 23: Best of the Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan arrives at Pinnacle Station and finds he out how Liara feels about him. But will he survive long enough to act on it

 

Logan had ordered the Normandy to head towards Pinnacle Station, before gathering up the ground team so they knew why they were here.

 

“We are here because of happened at Feros” He told them calmly “If we face off against Saren and his Geth the same way, we will die” he looked at all of them before walking past all of them looking at each one “we need to fight as one, not as if we are by ourselves” Logan made sure they were all listening to him before continuing “this is Pinnacle Station, where the best of the best train. I want to know if we can match them or are we just playing?”

 

All of the crew said no at the same time and looked excited to be there and has they walked out onto Pinnacle Station. Logan could see two turian guards on either side of the walkway talking to each other.

 

“Isn’t that Commander Shepard? The human Spectre?” One turian whispered.

 

“Whatever. Spectre or no, it’s always fun to see humans get pummelled in the simulator” said the other one, who based on his uniform was a guard captain.

 

Logan overhead them but ignored them he made sure Ashley and Kaidan didn’t say anything either, after all a lot of humans had not been invited here yet so it is likely that the ones that have been here did get pummelled. Once they walked through the doors, Logan made his way over to the human standing overlooking the room.

 

“Ah, Commander Shepard. Welcome to Pinnacle Station. I’m Admiral Tadius Ahern” The Admiral said.

 

Logan smiled and nodded “Glad I got the invite. Where do we begin?”

 

While the Admiral explained how it worked, the others had a look around and all of them came to the same conclusion, humans were in very low numbers here. After Logan had finished talking to the Admiral he made his way down the stairs and towards the training simulator. While Logan was speaking to the tech-officer, Wrex made his way over to the krogan leaning against the wall.

 

Logan frowned as he was talking to the tech officer who introduced himself as Ochren “What’s with the attitude?”

 

Ochren sighed “I am a technical genius on a station full of soldiers who only respect battlefield prowess. It is more than a little frustrating”

 

Logan nodded “You help keep these soldiers at their best. That’s extremely valuable”

 

Ochren sighed again “I suppose so. It would be nice to get credit once and awhile though”

 

Logan nodded and asked about how to get started, and after choosing a course and a warning about not using real grenades or Ochren would turn off every safety setting they had, he was ready to start.

 

“Ok, guys this will be a simple capture simulation” Logan explained to all of them “First off Liara and Tali, you are with me for this one”

 

Tali nodded and stepped forward checking her gear “Right, behind you Commander” Tali said. She was excited to be here, she wondered exactly the hologram projectors worked and if the Fleet could use anything like it.

 

Liara on the other hand, was slightly upset she hadn’t had much of a chance to speak to Logan yet, while he wasn't avoiding her anymore, he was very busy and it looked like now would be no different “Ready” she said. Truth was she could use the training, she knew Saren was going to be surrounded by geth and maybe even asari commandos, or worse her own mother and she needed to be ready.

 

After they were done, Logan checked the scores and gave a few pointers to Tali and Liara before he took Wrex and Kaidan though another simulator while Liara and Tali caught their breath.

 

“What was it like in there?” asked Ashley.

 

Tali looked at Ashley and after she swallowed a mouthful of water answered “Commander Shepard was really pushing us hard. I think he is worried about our chances against Saren”

 

Ashley nodded before she relayed the same message to Garrus and since they knew that they would be next they talked tactics with each other.

 

Sure enough once they came back out; Logan checked the scores and talked with Wrex and Kaidan before he pointed to Garrus and Ashley “Your turn now” before he looked at others “Don’t just sit there, go choose a simulation, the whole point of this to get our team work down, so work in pairs” he explained before walking back into the simulator.

 

Liara looked over at Kaidan and asked if he wanted to go through a simulator, while Wrex did the same with Tali while they managed to work well together, it was when Logan took them though that was the hardest. It wasn’t until Kaidan explained to all of them that Logan was giving them the same training that he gave to his old squad that was called the Wrecking Crew, which was more specialised than N-7 training, focusing on small unit tactics and close quarters fighting.

 

After hours Logan had stopped them for the night “That’s it for now, get some rest and we will do some more tomorrow” Logan watched as they all headed back to the Normandy, as they walked away he called out to Liara.

 

“Yes Commander?” Liara asked.

 

Logan sighed “Look, I should explain, I was avoiding you and you didn’t deserve that. I just wanted to say sorry” he said looking into her eyes.

 

Liara frowned “Why were you avoiding me?”

 

Logan took a deep breath and looked down at the floor “I was worried that you saw things from my past, I didn’t think you could of accepted me if you knew”

 

Liara shook her head “Well, if we are being honest with each other, I looked into your history, I read what you did on Torfan and the Blitz, I can’t imagine what that was like but you did what needed to be done”

 

Logan looked up then “You looked that up? I would have told you anything you wanted to know”

 

Liara looked down and away from his intense gaze “I’m sorry but after our last conversations I was afraid of making a fool of myself and say something stupid again” she said before she looked back into his eyes “I wanted to know more about you, to understand what made you into the man you are. There is something compelling about you Commander” she said her voice changing slightly.

 _Is she hitting on me?_ Logan thought before he asked “Are you sure you are interested in me? Or is it just my visions of the protheans?” Logan couldn’t help but feel a little turned on with the change in her voice, so he was hoping it was him and not the visions.

 

Liara nodded “I will admit, the visions had something to do with my initial interest but it has grown beyond that. You intrigue me Shepard but I was not sure if it was appropriate to act on my feelings. I thought there might already be a relationship between you and Chief Williams”

 

Logan blinked before he shook his head “How can we have a relationship? We aren’t even the same species?” he asked, as shallow as it made him sound, he liked having sex in the human sense and he didn’t think mind melding would be able to match it.

 

“Asari and humans are physiologically compatible in most ways Commander. Of course a relationship must involve more than just physical contact; there must also be an emotional and spiritual connection between us. Our species maybe different but there are many things we could share but none of this matter if there is already a relationship between you and Chief Williams” Liara said, seemingly more confident than she had even been before.

 

“I agree a relationship must be more than just physical but just so you are aware, Liara sex for humans means I would put my penis inside your….birth canal” Logan said frowning when he didn’t know what the exact term was “And in answer to your question, no Ashley and I are just friends” Logan said as he watched Liara blush but she still didn’t look away.

 

“Oh, I must have misread the situation then. And yes I am aware of how humans have sex and I have no problem with it, many males of different species do the same…so I am told” she said blushing slightly before looking back into his eyes “But was I wrong about us? I felt there was an attraction between us” Liara said while trying to hide her nervousness; _goddess my heart is beating so loud_ she thought.

 

Logan nodded ‘Yeah your right, I was just unsure if it was just me. I am only used to the signals human women give out” he said chuckling slightly.

 

Liara smiled and practically jumped for joy “I knew it and I knew you felt it too but does this not seem strange? Why do I feel so close to you? We have only known each other a short time. We are from two different species; we have almost nothing in common”

 

Logan smirked “Saren wants us both dead, that’s something” he said chuckling.

 

Liara smirked at that too “You make it sound so chaotic; so dangerous”

 

Logan smiled “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you”

 

Liara frowned slightly “I am not looking for a protector Shepard”

 

Logan nodded and shrugged his shoulders “With us human guys it’s a apart of the deal, we protect the ones we lo…..care for, well the ones worth a damn do” he said catching himself from saying to much.

 

Liara nodded as if she understood “This is all a bit overwhelming, I am not used to…this…you. I need some time to think”

 

Logan smiled “Take all the time you need Liara, I’ll be here”

 

Liara nodded and thanked him before she changed the subject, to how she did in the simulations. Logan gave her a few pointers before he told her to get some sleep. Logan spent the next few hours watching the footage from the simulations, focusing on the others; he took down notes of strengths and weaknesses of each crew member. Once he was done he headed towards the bathroom on Pinnacle Station, since it was closer than walking back to the Normandy. Inside he noticed, it was a unisex bathroom as an asari walk past him on his way in.

 

Making his way to the sink he splashed some water on his face as another asari entered, she seemed to glance over at him quickly before she started to put on some scalp wax, if Logan hadn’t spent years on the streets of Earth it wouldn’t of noticed it, shrugging he made his way into a stall not bothering to lock the door and only pushing it shut thinking it was just the fact he was the only human Spectre so maybe that is why she looked his way like that.

 

Logan sighed as he relived himself but noticed on the metallic surface on the toilet in front of him the door was opening up behind him in the next half a second he noticed movement as if the person who opened the door was raising their arm, throwing himself to one side quickly and turned around spraying the wall and his would be assassin with piss at the same time she had pulled the trigger. The bullets tore through the rear wall, missing Logan by milometers but hitting the water pipe flooding the floor with recycled water, giving him a chance to grab her arm and draw her closer and into a head butt with a crunch.

 

It was the asari from before and she didn’t even seem to notice or care being covered in piss or being head butted for that matter. The look on her face was one of total focus; as she glowed blue with biotic energy preparing for an attack; Logan took the chance to punch her in the face, still trying to get the gun off her. That was when the asari stomped on his foot hard before elbowing him in the face. In the small confines of the stall, Logan tried to use his size and strength to his advantage as he needed to get that gun off her.

 

The two of them were forced to fight one handed as she still was not letting go of the gun, every so often the gun would come close enough to him that she pulled the trigger again, the gun was silenced which meant no one would hear the shots and come to help him. The asari was more than capable of fighting while still holding on to her gun and even reversing or blocking any attempts Logan made at snapping her arm or disarming her. Logan was getting beaten to a pulp, her smaller size allowed her to move far quicker and she fought like she was double jointed.

 

Logan might as well been moving in slow motion to her, as every strike he landed on her she would land four back on him, both of the biotics unable to charge up an attack while they were dodging attacks from each other, that changed though when Logan finally managed to get the gun off her by smacking her hand against the wall, instead of trying keep up with her Logan used his strength and powered her into a wall, he took four elbows to the face to do it but he managed it.

 

Of course that left him open to be thrown out of the stall and across the bathroom with biotics, thankfully the biotic throw was not too powerful due to the close nature of the fight but was aimed at giving her some distance and once there was distance between the two, biotics came into play. Logan slid across the floor and charged up his biotics and threw her gun away from her, putting it deep into the wall, before they stood up and looked at one enough from across the bathroom while the water from busted water pipes showered them both.

 

The asari had a bloody nose and a few bruises but she looked like she could still go, her eyes still had that same look of cold focus, Logan was bleeding from the mouth and nose, spitting a glob of blood out Logan glared at her and glanced down as he tucked himself back into his pants “Got a name?”

 

The asari smirked “Matriarch Benezia sends her regards” she said as she shattered the nearby mirror and sent shards of broken glass flying his way.

 

Logan snarled as he managed to get his barriers up just in time, but he could not keep this going, while she was a handful close range he knew she would kill him if this turned into a straight biotic slugfest. Pulling out his knife he made his way closer towards her, using his biotics to grab a hand dryer off the wall and threw that at her which she deflected with a wave of her hand as if it was nothing, before she charged up another attack this time she aimed for the stalls and ripped apart the walls, tiles, sinks and toilets and sent them flying at Logan.

 

Logan started running towards her, using his biotics to deflect objects from doing any real damage he jumped and used his biotics to lower his weight and increase his speed and add more power into the kick he aimed for her head; he had taken a person’s head off with this very attack in the past. She side stepped him as his foot slammed into the wall leaving a small crater where her was a moment ago and slammed her fist into the side of his head as he past her. Using the momentum from her strike he spun with it and pushed off the wall with his feet and tried to stab her with his knife. She caught his wrist before bringing her foot straight up between them slamming into his chin; she then stepped into him with her back into him and drove her elbow into his face.

 

Logan felt his mouth fill with blood, but he now had her where he could do some damage. Wrapping his arm around her arm but keeping her back to him he stomped on the back of her leg trying to drive her to the ground. The sounds of alarms on the station now blaring loudly as Logan leaned forward as he put all his weight on her back forcing her to the ground, she still thrashed around and even reached back and gripped his balls in her hand and squeezed hard.

 

Logan screamed in pain and wrapped his other arm around her neck, she squeezed harder, it felt as if she was trying to tear them off. Logan could hear the door to the bathroom open, as guards ran into the room and stopped in their tracks unable to do anything as they knew Logan was a Spectre but he was also fighting what looked like a high ranking asari commando. As Logan was now flat on his back, while the asari with her back to his chest was kicking him in the face by picking her leg up and slamming her foot into his face while crushing his groin with her spare hand.

 

Liara and the rest of Normandy crew ran into the bathroom after hearing the calls from the guards saying that Commander Shepard was in trouble, they ran as fast as they could but only got there just in time to see what Logan did next.

 

Logan roared in pain and rage as he reached for her hand and broke her thumb and before snapping her wrist, using the opening Logan pinned her to the floor as he gripped her head fringe and lifted her head off the ground before driving it back into the tiled floor, the sound her head made echoed though out the room and if Logan had noticed he would of seen the sound made the guards wince, but Logan didn’t pay any attention to them as he lifted her head off the ground again before driving it back into the ground this time a slight splattering sound could be heard as her face gave way to the impact of his blows.

 

Logan repeated the action five more times each time the sounds got worse, Logan only stopped once he started getting sprayed with her purple blood, looking down at the asari commandos body before he lifted her head and twisted, snapping her neck making sure she was dead. That was when he looked up at the guards and spat a glob of blood out, his vison blurry and his breathing was heaving and sounding more like an animal than a man.

 

“Thanks for the help” Logan said sarcastically before he fell over.

 

The Normandy crew glared at the guards who just stood by and watched, even though Garrus knew that the standard rules for C-sec and anyone else was to stay out of a Spectres way unless ordered to interfere, though Garrus had to admit, if Logan was a turian the guards most likely would have gotten involved.

 

Liara looked at the bathroom and saw the damage the two Commando’s did in their effort to kill one another, what really sent shivers down her spine though was the way Logan killed the asari, gripping her head fringe like that, to say that it was gruesome was an understatement.

 

Ashley rushed over to Logan’s side and looked down at him “Are you ok Commander?”

 

Logan blinked and nodded “Yeah, help me up would you? That bitch grabbed my balls”

 

Ashley nodded and helped lift her Commander back up to his feet “Played dirty huh?” Ashley said before looking down at the asari “looks like you did a number on her though”

 

Logan chuckled before he spat another glob of blood, his legs felt so weak “She made it personal when she did that” Logan said before he remembered that the asari had said “she had said Benezia sent her”

 

Ashley smirked “Remind me not to hit you there then” she said chuckling before looking at Logan “Benezia? Why would she send someone after you?”

 

Logan just laughed “Ow, oh don’t make me laugh” he said before he took a deep breathe in and winced and pain and managed to stand up on his own although his was still hunched over “I think I have pissed off her and Saren”

 

Garrus nodded “Makes sense, send an assassin to take you out before you cause more damage to their plans. Of course it means that they might try again, in which case in recommend you have someone with you at all times”

 

Logan nodded “Agreed same goes for all of you, from now on we stick together at least in pairs at the very least”

 

Liara looked down feeling even more confused over her mother and just a little guilty, she moved closer. Unsure just how hurt Logan really was, it was only when he looked at her and nodded to let her know he was fine.

 

Logan sighed and looked one last time at the bathroom with the dead asari in it “And that is why we are here, that was only one asari Commando just imagine what a fully armed squad could do?”

 

After Logan got fixed up, he made sure the security detail on the station knew that he now had a target on his back and that he was going to stay on the station for another day or so. Logan pushed the crew harder than he ever did before, at one point Ashley threw up, Tali passed out after one session, Liara was exhausted and couldn’t get enough water into her system and Kaidan could barely move in the end Logan used Wrex and Garrus to break the final record. As they walked out Logan told them to get some rest, he spoke to Admiral Ahern about his performance when Ahern offered him one extra challenge based on his own experience and for extra difficulty all the safeties would be turned off.

 

Logan thought about it if he did it he would get a nice quiet retirement home that very few people knew about, if he didn’t then he would be dead. Despite what some people might think live fire exercises are used in N-school but never to this degree. Logan asked him to wait while he spoke to Garrus and Wrex, the home on the line could be a nice little safe house for the whole crew and he was worried what would happen when they came face to face with squads of asari commandos, hence the reason he was pushing them so hard.

 

“Guys I have something to tell you, now if you don’t feel up for it I’ll go in myself and work something out” Logan said as he walked up to them and after he explained what the bet was and what he was planning on doing with it and the fact that the safeties would be turned off.

 

Wrex smiled “Let’s do it” he said slamming his hands together.

 

Logan looked at Garrus “Just so you know, the sim is set on during first contact, we will be getting shot at by turians”

 

Garrus nodded before he smirked “Live fire training?” he said before he unslung his rifle “at least I know what to expect”

 

Logan laughed “Yeah outnumbered and cornered, hope turians can fight with their back against the wall” Logan said smiling before adding ”I will make a human out of you yet”


	24. Chapter 24: Crimes and Punishments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan bakes a cake the only way he knows how and does some pest control in Hades Gamma.

**Chapter 24: Crimes and Punishments**

Logan, Wrex and Garrus walked out of the sim, while they had quite a few marks but no worse than what they would normally get from a tough mission. After Ahern handed over the keys to the house, Logan made sure Ahern never told anyone about the bet.

Admiral Ahern only smirked and said he understood, so only the Admiral and the Normandy crew knew about the house. Garrus also had won two bets and went to collect; a smart mouthed turian who refused to believe that anyone could break his scores and a human could never led a team to break one score let alone all of them. Garrus was already eying off the turians sniper rifle and shotgun.

Garrus loved nothing more than shutting the mouths of bigots. Garrus had always thought his species tends to make more enemies than allies, and a good reason for that was the fact that turians tended to look down on other races. So any chance Garrus had to shut the mouth of a bigot he took.

“Pay up” Garrus told the turian.

“He cheated!” The turian complained.

Garrus frowned at the turian “Really? You lost fairly and now you’re complaining it didn’t happen? Show some honour, you call yourself a turian?”

The turian glared at Garrus “Fine, he won fairly”

Garrus chuckled “Good, I’ll take your shotgun and sniper rifle”

The turian tried to worm his way out of it but Garrus wouldn’t let him and soon afterwards had two new weapons, the shotgun was for Shepard but the sniper rifle was for him and made his way back to the Normandy.

Logan had made his way back onto the ship and after he turned off the locator that tracks all of the Normandy’s movements so the Alliance could look at look at patrol patterns once it was in for service. Turning it off was not meant to be done, but Logan being a Spectre could do whatever he wanted.

Logan explained to everyone on the ship what was going on and after they made a quick stop at the house on Intai’sei and placed a few orders for weapons and had a look around the house.

“All of you are welcome here anytime you need it, just remember I am paying for the weapons so if you take any from here leave something here” Logan explained before noticing only one fridge “I’ll get a dexo fridge too, so Garrus and Tali can eat while here”

Tali shook her head “Commander you don’t have to go to all this trouble”

Logan frowned and shook his head “I’m not, not much of a safe house if you would stave staying here”

Once they left the house. The Normandy did a quick patrol of the system and got ambushed on Metgos in the Hydra system for their trouble. From there Logan then sent them to patrol another system, the plan was to patrol systems on the way to Virmire, since it wouldn’t add that much extra time plus there was a lot of reports coming in of strange things occurring everything from pirates to missing survey teams.

While patrolling Hades Gamma, Logan and Tali and Garrus ended up on Trebin with him. They soon found a log explaining that they had found alien tech and just like Logan had feared, the survey team, all of them were now husks. The three of them managed to clear the husks out and had a quick look around.

Logan sighed, it was clear what happened here, they found some tech they didn’t understand and it corrupted them until there was nothing left, the infected would have dragged the uninfected to the spikes and this whole colony would have been lost within a few hours.

“Come on let’s get out of here” Logan said and headed back to the Normandy.

Once back on board Logan, had a shower and went back to the list of items he got on the Citadel. Logan poured some Earth Vodka and mixed it with the bread and poured the jelly crystals into the bowl while he was mixing them Tali and Garrus walked in.

“Commander Tali and I have some ideas about the Mako and….what is this Commander?” Garrus asked once he saw what Logan was doing.

Logan looked up and moved a few things away from the two aliens “Making something special for Saren” he said.

Tali didn’t know Logan knew chemistry “You know how to do that?” She asked as she picked up a small opened bag that had a strange blue berries in it.

Logan’s eyes went wide and he stood up quickly and snatched the bag off Tali and he placed them beside him before he quickly looked at the palms of Tali’s hands “Sorry Tali, but those are human blue berries”

Garrus took a step back “Earth Blue berries? You got blue berries? You do know how dangerous they are to turians?”

Logan nodded “Of course, that is why I am using it” Logan said before he looked back at Tali “and of course I can. Most drug dealers and runners have an understanding of chemistry….of course I paid more attention than most. Besides this is less of a poison, more of substance that should give him extreme allergic reaction”

Tali looked at the two of them “Umm what are earth blue berries? And you have made poison before?”

Logan smirked “Never for a turian”

Garrus looked at the bag as he answered “After the relay 314 incident...” Garrus started to say before he looked at Logan “Or as the humans call it the first contact war...”

Tali nodded “Yes, I read about that but what do these berries have to do with anything?”

Garrus looked at Tali “Well after the fighting stopped, humans were invited to the Citadel to meet with the rest of the Council races. Humans accepted and as per their custom bought food with them, the problem was that these blue berries were a part of the food that was bought from earth”

Tali looked confused “But why would a turian eat them?”

Garrus shook his head ‘Because these berries you don’t have to eat, they have a substance on them that stains the skin and that’s what does the damage, would not like to see what they do if they entered the bloodstream”

Tali thought about what was said ‘So what happened next?”

Logan spoke up at that point “The turian councillor tried to have a closer look and picked one of them up. Well that was a bad move on his part”

Garrus nodded “Yeah, it took only a minute before he complained about his plates burning some even started to peel off him, then he started foaming at the mouth and then had convulsions at the same time as projectile vomiting, to this day he still has nerve damage, doctors cannot repair it”

Tali’s eyes went wide “He survived?”

Logan nodded “Yeah but barely, the turians thought we did it on purpose and wanted to restart from where we left off”

Garrus nodded as he rubbed his fringe “It wasn’t until, the asari councillor in an attempt to avoid interstellar war, quickly put one in her mouth”

Logan chuckled “Yeah, she liked them before telling the turians that holding a levo-based food without knowing anything about it was an incredibly dangerous thing to do”

Tali sighed before she looked back up at the two of them “So what happened to the Councillor?”

Garrus looked back at the blue berries “They had to clear his system and it was touch and go for a while there. Since then Earth blue berries, are seen as a chemical weapon outlawed by the Council using it is seen as a war crime under cruelty”

Tali frowned “If it is outlawed then…”

Logan smirked “Being a Spectre has its advantages…although having said that, the turian who I ordered it off didn’t like the idea very much”

Garrus looked at Logan “You willing to go to that level to stop him Commander? You know if you use this you will have committed a war crime. Not that they could do anything to you” Garrus leaned against the wall “Not judging, but others will Commander”

Logan stood up at that point and wiped his hands “Why do you think I was made a Spectre? You think it had anything to do with me being a nice guy?”

Garrus shook his head “I have read your files Commander, I know why they made you a Spectre but I also know you have been fighting a PR nightmare for some time”

Logan laughed out loud at that “I don’t care if people like me or not, in fact it makes my job easier if they are afraid of me”

Tali just looked at the substance the Commander was making and noticed the blue berries were not the only thing that was placed into the mixture and there was two more items that had not been placed into the mix yet.

“Commander what are you putting into this anyway?” Tali asked interrupting the two men.

Logan looked back over at Tali “Well these are bread crumbs, they cause bad stomach cramps as well as…..other side effects”

Tali frowned not that anyone could see it and looked over at Garrus who explained “He means they empty your bowels”

Tali screwed up her face in disgust “Disgusting”

Logan smirked “Yeah this will make things messy” he said before he lifted up the leftover jelly crystals “These cause minor paralysis of small sections of the body, like the arms, legs or face”

Garrus just shook his head “Remind you never to get on your bad side Commander” he said as he pointed to the Kahje shellfish “that is a Kahje shellfish it causes hallucinations which are dependent on what mood you are in when they take effect which considering Saren will have a pissed off human trying to cut his head off, let’s just say the visions will not be pleasant”

Tali nodded “And those?” pointing to the other bag sitting near the shellfish, one had tablets in them.

Logan smiled “Well the tablets are human sleeping tablets” he explained as he placed the mixture on top of a hot plate and begun to boil the mixture, once it was hot enough he threw the whole shellfish in.

Tali was silent for a moment “But why human sleeping pills?”

Logan just rubbed his neck “Well nothing special about them really they are just toxic to turians but not lethally so”

Garrus looked at the two of them as he worked what the Commanders plan was “So the idea is that you poison Saren with this and he dies from all of these side effects”

Logan nodded “Or gives me the chance to plug him” he answered making his fingers into a gun. Logan then sighed and washed his hands “Now tell me about these ideas you have for the Mako?”

Tali so excited she was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, something that made Logan smile just slightly _she clearly loves her work_ Logan thought to himself. Tali then typed a few things into her Omni-tool and explained how they could fit the whole ground crew into the Mako.

 

Liara was sitting in her room to ashamed to show herself. She had a hard time accepting the fact her own mother had sent an assassin after someone she had only just stated their feelings towards and to make things even better he felt the same way. The memory of Logan grabbing the back of that Commando’s head fringe and slamming her face into the floor that many times, was not an easy image to forget either, not that she judged Shepard for killing her or even how he did it but seeing it happen less a few feet away was a different story.

This human had two sides the side his crew saw and the one his enemies saw, Liara could only wonder if her mother had two sides as well? Was she always like this? Was the loving and caring woman she knew a lie? Or did Saren corrupt her so totally she is now lost forever? Liara sighed and started to watch old family videos that she had on her Omni-tool and cried softly to herself.

Logan had just been told that Admiral Hackett had a mission for him, when the Admiral told him what he wanted Logan to do, Logan was unsure to say the least.

“So you have a medical facility being held hostage by biotics, who have drugged civilians and are using them as human shields?” Logan repeated what Hackett had just told him “You sure I am the right guy for the job? I mean I’m not known for keeping people alive. Might be easier to just bomb them from orbit” He joked.

Admiral Hackett sighed “Yes I am well aware of your record and truth be told we wanted to send Commander Nikita Taylor but she is on the other side of galaxy and you’re the closest we have. But I understand if you don’t want…”

“No, I’ll do it” Logan said before saluting and signing off.

Logan stood there for a moment, thinking about who he should take with him “Liara and Ashley suit up and meet me in the cargo hold” he said over the radio.

He wanted the two of them due to the fact that Ashley was a trained sniper and Liara was a biotic, truth be told he never even thought for one second why it might not be a good idea to bring the two women along with him.

Logan only realized his mistake when he saw them standing beside each other making small talk, the tension between them was thick enough to taste. Logan looked at the two of them before he explained the mission to them “You two be able to work together on this?”

Ashley nodded before looking at Liara “Of course Commander”

Liara nodded as well but didn’t say anything.

Once they were down on Chohe they headed towards the facility, on the inside of the building they got their weapons ready.

Ashley had her sniper rifle in hand and was covering the rear, while Liara and Logan would be in front of her with pistols. They arrived a minute later in a large room that was filled with containers making visibility difficult.

“Watch your targets” Logan warned as he saw a civilian stagger into the line of sight.

A spilt second later one of the biotics came around the corner and opened fire, Ashley quickly blew his head off.

Logan looked around before he moved the civilian closer to him using biotics and slammed his head into the wall “There now he won’t get in the way, I know I’d rather wake up with a headache then not wake up at all”

As soon as he did though two of the biotics came around a corner, Liara lifted one upwards for Ashley to shoot while Liara helped Logan take care of the other one. At that point three civilians walked around the corner, while there was another two biotics crouching down to try and hide behind the civilians while firing around them.

Logan charged up his biotics and lifted the civilians upwards into the air leaving the two biotics wide open for the two women to take them down. At the point an insane voice could be heard, talking about how he is the future of humans and with that announcement he threw Ashley across the room and fired a dozen rounds at Logan took a round to his thigh and went down it was then that another four biotics came into the room along with two more civilians once, this time the civilians were staring up at the ceiling not realising the bullets barely missing them.

Logan was on his side while trying to crawl back to cover while he was firing back, he had just dropped the shields of one terrorist, he was about to call for help when he heard Liara.

“Shepard!” Liara yelled out and started glowing bright blue and like a force of nature, she put the two civilians in stasis and with a primal scream that seemed strange coming from the shy and quiet doctor, as the two human teammates witnessed the sheer biotic power an asari could generate, even one as young as Liara. The human biotics never knew what hit them, one terrorist was thrown into a wall he was turned to paste, another two were crushed in a singularity and the last one, the leader, got the worst and was hit with a warp which removed his lower body from the waist down. When the fighting had died down and the only sounds were the screams of the half a terrorist now looking down at his missing lower body with the look of shock and disbelief on his face.

Logan tried to stand up but he couldn’t put any weight on his leg and the screams were giving him a headache. Looking around he could see Ashley walking towards him, while Liara just stood in shock looking at the carnage she just committed. While the shy doctor had killed before, she had never used her biotics to such a level.

Logan was helped up by Ashley who said “Remind me not to piss her off”

Logan chuckled “Yeah ditto” he said before looking over at Liara who still hadn’t moved “hey do me a favour, can you go put that guy out of his misery”

Ashley looked over at the asari who still hadn’t moved and nodded, leaning Logan against a wall she walked over and shot the man in the head, silencing him. The sound of the gunshot and the silence that followed snapped Liara out of her trance.

“Hey you did well, you saved our asses” Ashley told the doctor before looking her in the eyes “You ok?”

Liara looked up and nodded after a second “Yes...I...I have never used my biotics like that before”

Ashley looked around at the bloodbath the young doctor had left behind “Can I ask why? I guess I am having a hard time understanding that is all”

Liara turned her head and smiled softly “That is because you are a soldier, I am a doctor and I was taught to only use my biotics like that as a last resort”

Ashley nodded slowly as she looked back at Liara “Well if it makes you feel any better Doc, it was a last resort, I was down and Commander is injured, you were on your own and you did very well”

Liara quickly turned her head “Is he...?”

Ashley smiled “He is fine. Come on; let’s get the Commander out of here”

Liara looked over at Shepard, who was leaning against a container keeping his weight off his bad leg “Are you okay Commander?”

Logan nodded “Yeah I am fine Liara, just took a round in the thigh” he told her as Ashley put his arm around her shoulder while Liara looked on.

“Good job Chief” Logan said holding out his fist.

Liara frowned as she saw Ashley return the gesture and the two touched knuckles together, a human hand gesture she hadn’t seen before, it seemed to mean a celebration or _good job_.

Feeling left out Liara held out her hand in the same way and asked the two humans to ‘fist her’

Logan almost choked on the mouthful of water he was drinking at the time, with tears coming out of his eyes from the water going down the wrong way while Ashley just laughed.

Liara frowned “What did I say?””

Logan looked at Ashley “Care to take this one?”

Ashley just smirked and shook her head “You’re on your own with this one Commander”

Logan smirked “You know I could order you to answer”

Ashley nodded “Yeah you could, you could also walk back to the ship”

Logan chuckled “I’ll get you for this Chief” he said before looking at Liara “Um it’s a called a fist bump” he said bumping her fist “you just asked for something very different”

Liara frowned while blushing not sure what exactly she said “What did I ask for?”

Logan put on hand on his head “Please take this one Chief” he asked chuckling blushing slightly himself.

Ashley shook her head “Not a chance, I will gladly scrub the decks to hear this”

Logan chuckled “You’re a bitch you know that right?”

Ashley only smirked wider “Oh yeah, I know”

Logan turned back to Liara and was silent for a moment “Um….you just asked us to….put our hands inside you”

Liara frowned “That makes no sense”

Logan sighed this was getting harder to explain nicely “Um… ok bluntly it is” he said to himself “You just asked us to put our fist inside your birth carnal”

Now it was Ashley’s turn to burst out laughing “Geez Commander, I would hate to see how you talk to kids about the birds and bees” she mocked.

Liara looked horrified “Oh goddess I....never meant that....I don’t know what to say....humans would do that?”

Logan breathed out slowly _it just goes from bad to worse, who would of thought this would be more painful than being shot?_ He thought to himself “Not all of us” he said hoping this talk would end there.

“Do you?” Liara asked the next question that Logan was hoping she wouldn’t ask.

 _Date an alien it will be fine they said, It will be fine._ Logan thought before noticing Ashley was almost in tears from trying not to laugh, it was a long trip back to the ship.

“No” He answered simply while thinking of how he will get Ashley back for this one.

Once back on the ship Logan, was helped to see Dr Chakwas for the round in his leg, Ashley also had to be looked at as well, she had hit her head pretty hard when she was thrown. Ashley had a concussion while Logan was given crutches and told that he would not be cleared for a few days, something that he was not happy about.

Logan also realised the most fearless person on the ship was Dr Chakwas, she was the one who told him that she would not clear him for any missions and that she didn’t care that he was a Spectre.

“You can listen to me and get back into the field faster or you can risk it and end up getting yourself or someone else killed, is that what you want?” Dr Chakwas said.

Logan gave her a death stare, the same look he would give to slavers and pirates, but to her credit she never backed down and Logan swore when he realised she was right.

“You act like you’re my mother” Logan grunted under his breath.

Dr Chakwas only smirked “Someone has to stop you from killing yourself and if I was your mother, I would wash your mouth out with soap for that outburst”

Logan raised an eyebrow “I wouldn’t recommend it” he said dryly with a slight smirk.

So once leaving the med bay Logan went to see Kaidan to say that until he was cleared for duty again that Kaidan would be leading all the ground teams.

Kaidan nodded “I won’t let you down Commander”

Logan nodded “I know”

Kaidan had a pirate base that Helena Blake told Logan about to take down and he took Wrex and Ashley with him. Logan did not like being left on the ship and could not wait until he was back in action again. Just three days, he can wait that long.


	25. Chapter 25: When evil knows your name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrex and Logan have a heated exchange on Virmire.

**Chapter 34: When evil knows your name**

**Farinata System/ Hades Gamma/ MSV Ontario**

 

After three days of healing up and training to regain full use of his leg again. It wasn’t as bad as he first thought, after all Logan had spent time training with Ashley to help his leg, got Tali to give him a few engineer pointers and got a chance to practice biotics with Liara but once Logan had finally healed up and was given the medical clearance to go back into combat duties again, he jumped at it. Kaidan had cleared two pirate bases while Logan was healing and now was with him and Wrex taking care of human biotics that had taken a hostage, the chairman of the Parliament Subcommittee on Transhuman Studies and are holed up in a derelict freighter in the Farinata System.

 

After fighting their way through the biotics trying to stop them, the three of them entered a room and saw an older man kneeling on the ground with a group behind him including one man holding a gun _that would be the leader, the leaders always hold the hostage, not thinking even once that it makes them a target, that when bullets start flying they would be the first to die…well second anyway_ Logan thought to himself.

_“_ You see how it is? You write letters and everyone ignores you. Force is the only thing people appreciate. So how bout I kill Chairman Burns and finish this charade?” The leader said sounding very confident and not scared of dying _great I hate the ones that have a cause worth dying for_ Logan thought well looking at Chairman Burns who didn’t look injured.

 

“Please I was trying to help you people” Chairman Burns begged.

 

Logan looked at the leader “Let’s not do anything we’re all going to regret” Logan said noticing that none of his squad had a good line of sight on the leader, so ambushing the biotic wouldn’t work.

 

“Why not? What do we have to lose?” The leader asked before looking down at the chairman with disgust “since the chairman here decided that we don’t get reparations, we’ve got nothing to live for!” the leader explained.

 

“But I have changed my mind. Seeing you all its c-clear you all d-deserve…” Burns begged.

 

The leader again looked down at Burns and said “You had your chance! Some L2’s are nearly crippled by side effects from the implants, but you voted against reparations!”

 

“If you die fighting you will get a lot of biotics killed as well” Logan said sounding annoyed.

 

The leader frowned clearly he had not thought of this “What do you mean?”

 

Logan shook his head “You just made all L2 biotics look like terrorists” Logan explained “Think of what will happen to them”

 

“But people need to hear what the Government has done and what it has failed to do” The leader said.

 

Kaidan stepped forward “I’m a L2 as well, listen this is the best deal you can get. People have heard, you don’t have to die for it”

 

Logan glanced back at Kaidan before turning back “You will face trial and everything will be mentioned under oath and the Transhuman studies will be forced to do something. Truth is if you want anything to get done you will have to go to jail. Once in jail, you will be a constant reminder to them and the longer they don’t do anything the worse their public image will be” Logan looked down at Chairman Burns “as for you, understand this will not stop, today it was him, do nothing and it will be someone else next time and there will be a next time”

 

Chairman Burns nodded “Y...yes of c-course, I will get started right away”

 

“Your right, I don’t want to die. Maybe something will happen this time. We surrender” the leader said after a moments silence.

 

Chairman Burns was allowed to stand back up “Thank you Commander. I thought I was dead when they took me. I will see that the reparations discussion is reopened. I didn’t know they were so desperate”

 

Logan just shook his head “Then you weren’t doing your job, an Alliance fifth fleet cruiser will pick the prisoners up” he said as he turned and walked away.

 

Logan and the other two walked back past all the biotics who were giving the three of them death stares, Logan told them to ignore it.

 

Kaidan looked at the other biotics before turning to Logan “Well they don’t know what you just did for L2’s and thanks commander”

 

Logan looked at Kaidan “I just stopped them from blowing holes in a guy’s head” he said clearly not giving a shit, missions like this always annoyed Logan as once they either saw Logan or he had spoken the smart ones surrendered, so because of some dumbass was not doing his job some other dumbass took him hostage. The whole thing just seemed like a waste of time.

 

Kaidan just smirked he knew why Logan was annoyed but he didn’t take offence, being a biotic himself Logan did care about human biotics but hated people wasting his time “You did more than that Commander”

 

Logan shrugged and smirked a little “And here I thought I was just stopping them from shooting a hostage”

 

Once back on the ship Logan spoke to Hackett who thanked him for it “Just no more hostage mission’s sir, tell everyone to stop getting kidnapped” Logan joked.

 

Hackett chuckled “I will pass the word along, Hackett out”

 

Logan made his way down to see Ashley for another training session, Logan and Ashley had spent a lot of time training and even more since Logan had gotten injured, in fact his rapid healing could have something to do with the amount of sparring and training Logan and Ashley had done. Of course Logan was oblivious to how Ashley felt about him even after Liara misunderstood what was going on between them, so Logan continued spending time around Ashley without even thinking about it.

 

After he had finished training he thought to the fight he had with the asari commando on Pinnacle station and had a look for asari commando files, but even with Spectre clearance he could not find much information so he sent a message to Councillor Tevos requesting files on asari commando training, Logan smiled when he thought how Councillor Tevos would react to a ‘savage primitive’ asking for that sort of information. While waiting for a reply, he looked up human/asari relations hoping to find some ideas for when he takes Liara out for a date or something. That was the idea and was going well until he found an article in an asari magazine called Awska, a popular extranet magazine, written by Doctor Emenne Merens an asari on Thessia who was one of the leading experts on interspecies relations and was one of the first asari to study both female and male humans.

 

Logan read the article and looked at the pictures, some of which he already knew, due to his N-school training but that training was all on how to kill them not how to give them an orgasm. Logan felt like a worried virgin again, he knew that Liara had never done it before but that did nothing to calm Logan down and on top of that all this thinking and reading about sex had made him feeling rather excited, so closing that window Logan opened a new window and made the mistake of turning off the filter and after a simple search found what he was looking for asari – human porn.

 

Logan had a quick look though the video’s and found one he liked; he never really bothered to look up asari porn, or any porn for that matter, after he clicked on a link, his computer was flooded with mountains of porn, in fact due to Logan clicking on an infected link; it seemed as if he had just given his personal computer a virus with millions of terabytes of hard-core interspecies porn. Logan however was totally unaware and used his computer as he normally would, unaware until he went to close the window and found that there were so many other windows open and more porn coming in every second.

 

Logan swore and had his hands up near his temples as he tried to think of a way to fix this, he was not an engineer and clearing a virus like that from his computer would not be easy and the Alliance was already not happy with him and they really do not like clearing personal computers of porn, meaning he had to ask someone on the ship. _Kaidan?_ _No, he is a gossip and would never shut his trap about this, Tali? No way in hell am I asking her to get rid of porn for me and I wouldn’t be able to look her in the eyes asking her to save my computer, which leaves only Garrus…I’ll ask him_ Logan thought and stood up to find Garrus and see if the turian could keep a secret.

 

Liara headed to Logan’s cabin to go over another biotic lesson with him, while he was a very capable biotic she was teaching him more refined and more focused techniques which in turn was allowing him to get more power of his biotics. Liara knocked on the door and got no answer, she knocked again and when she got no answer she opened the door and noticed Logan was not here. Frowning Liara turned around to leave, thinking Logan must have forgotten about the training session, when she noticed his personal computer was left on. Liara remembered Logan telling her that she was welcome to stop by anytime and that if she was looking for him his room is a good place to start as he is always coming and going.

 

“Maybe he will be back soon?” she said out loud and went to sit down at his desk. That was when she nudged the mouse for Logan’s laptop and the screen came back on.

 

Liara raised an eyebrow as the screen showed an asari and a human man having sex, as well as what looked like a virus uploading more porn every second. Liara smiled slightly while blushing, asari are a lot more open minded and watching porn or being interested in sex to an asari was just par for the course. While this surprised Liara it was not because of the images on the screen but instead for what it meant, the alien she was interested in melding with her wanted to do it as well. While she was clearing the computer she saw what Logan was looking up and her smile grew bigger, he wasn’t just looking at porn he was looking up advice and that was when Liara realised that despite his confidence, Logan was nervous about melding with her, more so than what she was with him but she could tell by the search results that he was not getting cold feet.

 

Liara felt happy with herself and where Logan and she were heading, if only she could work out what the deal was with Ashley. Logan spends a lot of time around the human solider, even though Logan said they were just friends does not mean Ashley felt the same way and being asari Liara was told in school that some races and or cultures have more than one bond-mate and while Liara didn’t have a problem with that, what she did have a problem with was nothing was set in stone and she didn’t know where she or Ashley stood for that matter.

 

**Twenty minutes later**

 

Logan raised his eyebrows at Garrus “Shut up, will you help me or not?”

 

Garrus smiled, which Logan was still getting used to seeing so often “Fine, I will help you but I can’t help but think of what the good doctor will think of this?”

 

Logan glared at him “I will just flush you out the airlock if you do” he said jokingly.

 

Garrus by this stage had come to realise that Logan didn’t mean his threats based on the smile on his face and that humans often joked around like this to help relieve tension, it took some time to get used to but once he did Garrus found he was joining in on the jokes too “Ah true Commander however who would you get to clear your computer of porn? Maybe you could ask Tali?”

 

Logan laughed “How about no”

 

Once back in Logan’s cabin Garrus had a look at the computer and looked at Logan “Maybe I don’t get human humour as well as I thought I did”  


Logan frowned “What are you talking about?” then noticed there was no sign of the virus “That makes no sense”

 

Garrus smirked “Maybe it was one of those tiny spirts you humans talk about?”

 

Logan shook his head “You mean a fairy? Yeah I am sure that’s what happened. The porn fairy got rid of a virus” he said rolling his eyes.

 

After Logan got rid of Garrus and listened to quite a number of jokes Garrus had to say before he tried to put the strange disappearance of an aggressive virus out of his mind. He spoke to Ashley and for once was not about work, then he got a few hacking pointers from Tali, while N-school taught everyone how to hack but Tali was in a league all on her own. Logan ended up talking to Liara and playing poker with her until early hours of the morning.

 

**Milky Way / Sentry Omega / Hoc System**

 

When Logan woke up he made the choice to head towards Virmire, since his injuries were fully healed now. As the Normandy neared the planet, radio chatter could be heard.

 

Logan listening to Tali as she explained the new upgrades to the Mako “We can now all fit but we won’t be able to fit anyone or anything else”

 

Logan nodded “Good work, everyone suit up”

 

The ride down to the surface was interesting as the Mako was now packed and slightly cramped but since it meant that ground teams would have more back up no one complained. The drive to the camp included ongoing firefights but nothing major, the main problem was Logan dodging missiles with the Mako full of people.

 

The gatehouses were no real match for the squad, almost as if the geth were not expecting a fight from that side of the gatehouse, being geth they recovered quickly. After the AA guns were shut down, they headed to the salarian camp.

 

Once out of the cramped Mako, Logan and the others headed over to the salarian who looked like they were in charge.

 

“I’m Captain Kirrahe. Third Infiltration unit STG” salarian said.

 

Logan introduced themselves and listened as the captain explained how every AA gun has been alerted to their presence. The captain seemed in a good mood until he was informed that Logan and his squad were the reinforcements he was waiting for.

 

“What? You’re all they sent? I told the Council to send a fleet” Kirrahe said before pacing back and forth.

 

Logan shrugged “I was beginning to think they just don’t listen to me. They couldn’t understand you they sent me to investigate”

 

Kirrahe smirked slightly before getting serious again “That is a repetition of our task. I lost half my men investigating this place”

 

Logan nodded “So what have you found?”

 

Kirrahe stopped pacing “Saren’s base of operations. He’s set up a research facility here, but its crawling with geth and heavily fortified”

 

Logan raised an eyebrow at that “Is he here? Have you seen him?”

 

“No, but his geth are everywhere, and we have intercepted comms referring to Saren” Kirrahe said before adding “This is his facility don’t worry about that”

 

Logan sighed “What is he researching?”

 

Kirrahe then looked at Wrex briefly before answering “He is using the facility to breed an army of krogan”

 

Wrex walked closer then “How is that possible?” Logan could hear the slight sound of hope in the old krogans voice.

 

“Apparently Saren has discovered a cure for the Genophage” Kirrahe said looking at the krogan with a worried expression on his face.

 

“The geth are bad enough. But a krogan army he would be unstoppable” Logan said just hoping that Wrex would not be a problem…he really didn’t want to have to shoot him.

 

Kirrahe nodded “Exactly my thoughts. We must ensure this facility and its secrets are destroyed”

 

“Destroyed? I don’t think so. Our people are dying this cure could save them” Wrex said the sound of anger rising in his voice.

 

Kirrahe looked at Wrex before turning back to Logan and talking to him instead as if Wrex was not even there “If that cure leaves this planet, the krogan will become unstoppable. We cannot make that same mistake again”

 

Wrex stepped forward “We are not a mistake!” he said before storming off.

 

“Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry krogan to worry about” Kirrahe asked while watching Wrex.

 

“I’ll handle it” Logan said as he tried to think of a way to get Wrex on his side again.

 

Kirrahe told them all the details of the cure that was known and that they are still planning the attack but Wrex needed to be dealt with first…one way or the other.

 

Ashley and Kaidan both seemed worried about Wrex too and Ashley said she was going to keep an eye on him anyway.

 

Logan sighed and walked over to where Wrex was firing a shotgun into the water.

 

Wrex started talking right away “This isn’t right Shepard. If there is a cure for the Genophage then we can’t destroy it”

 

“Calm down Wrex. I am not the enemy here; Saren is the one you should be mad at” Logan said moving a knife he had hidden in his sleeve closer to his palm so he could use it if needed.

 

“Really? Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it” Wrex said walking closer, if he knew about the knife he either didn’t care or didn’t show it “Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand”

 

Logan stepped forward getting in the old krogan’s face and also blocking any shot Ashley might have had “It’s not a cure it’s a weapon. And if Saren is allowed to use it you want reap the benefits. None of us will”

 

Wrex voice got even louder as he stepped closer, the two of them almost nose to nose now “That is a chance we should willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we are talking about” Wrex lowered his voice but it lost none of its intensity “If you can’t give me a better reason then this to destroy the hopes of my entire people I am done with you” he said as he took a slight step back just enough to out of range of any knife attacks but still close enough that his shotgun would kill him at this range.

 

Logan took his pistol out and while he was looking down the barrel of a very powerful shotgun told Wrex in no uncertain terms could he allow Wrex to jeopardise the mission, while pleading with himself _Wrex I don’t want to do this._

 

“So that’s it? All this time and that’s all I get from you? How can you not see what this means for the krogan?” Wrex said, Wrex noticed the sound of Logan’s heartbeat picked up, not from fear…no Wrex knew this was the human getting ready to fight if need be “This base cannot be destroyed. I will not allow it”

 

Logan frowned and shook his head before he did something unexpected he lowered his gun down before he answered “Are you fucking stupid?” he asked before pointing at the facility “They are not krogan, they are puppets, slaves. Clones that were bred in a fucking tank! Taught everything they know by a turian traitor that has betrayed everyone who has ever worked with him. If these krogan” Logan used air quotes when he said krogan “are allowed off this planet, do you really think it would be a good thing for your people? They would wipe out any real krogan and your entire race becomes a turian’s bitch. In case you can’t understand what I am saying here Wrex, the krogan would be a slave race and that is only if Saren does not just kill them all after they stop being useful” Logan said now looking Wrex in the eyes “Is that what you want for you people?”

 

Wrex was silent for a moment before he answered “No. We were tools for the council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous” Wrex stood back up again “All right Shepard you have made your point. I don’t like this, but I trust you enough to follow your lead” Wrex explained before adding “Just one more thing. When we find Saren I want his head”

 

Logan nodded “The line for that starts behind me” he said with a slight smirk.

 

Logan walked back to Kirrahe and the others. Kirrahe thanked him for talking to Wrex and mentioned an assault on the base. The plan was simple but very dangerous; nuke the base using a converted ships drive core. The facility is too well-fortified to nuke from orbit so it will have to placed in a precise location on the far side of the facility, The Normandy will drop it off after the site is secure of hostiles of course.

 

Logan thought about the plan which meant they would be going on foot, while the salarians will distract the ground forces from three different teams Logan and the others would be Shadow team and they would sneak in unnoticed. As Logan had thought, the plan was simple but dangerous. Kirrahe had also asked for one of Logan’s crew and it had to be Ashley or Kaidan as they were the only ones that knew Alliance communication protocols.

 

Logan sighed and looked at the two of them who were arguing over who should go “Enough! Ashley you’re with Kirrahe keep it simple got it?”

 

Ashley nodded while Kaidan looked disappointed until Logan explained that he would be needed for the nuke. After they said their goodbyes and Kaidan seemed nervous.

 

“Just remember your training and fight like hell and we will see you on the other side” Logan told him.

 

Kaidan nodded with a slight smile “You bet Commander”

 

The Normandy crew just stayed back and listened to the impressive speech Captain Kirrahe said to his men, Logan thought he laid it on a bit thick with the whole ‘hold the line’ bit but the salarians bought it which was the only thing that mattered.

 

Once the speech was over Logan and the crew all bar Kaidan made their way into the facility. The fighting was intense but with Wrex as angry as he was, Logan and the rest just had to cover him as the old krogan battle-master roared with rage and ran right over the top of any geth stupid enough to get his way. The fighting was intense but easy enough, mainly as they had the element of surprise. The only real resistance was around the AA guns, the refuelling station and of course the communications array, of course the walkways were maze like which slowed down their progress.

 

Logan had a look at his crew, aside from a few scapes and cuts they were doing fine, he was getting updates from both Kirrahe and Kaidan when he made it to the back of the facility and made the choice to deal with the inside guards themselves instead of leaving them for the salarians. Once inside however the fighting was a lot worse, geth destroyers came running towards them.

 

“Drop their shields Tali, Garrus cover Wrex, Liara and Kaidan with me” Logan ordered.

 

The open area looked like a storage room, which meant there was enough cover. Once the room was cleared Logan ordered them into the next room, which had a series of cells, one of which had a salarian in it.

 

“Well you’re not a geth. And you’re not wearing a lab coat. I guess I am glad to see you” The salarian commando said.

 

After the Commando introduced himself he told Logan about indoctrination “I watched good people turned into mindless husks. There wasn’t anything left. Others died during the experiments. I envy them” the commando told him.

 

Logan asked about what they were studying and the answer scared Logan. The salarian said that Saren was studying indoctrination, which to Logan meant he was not in control of it, meaning someone else was pulling the strings.

 

“I am opening your cell but then you’re on your own” Logan explained.

 

“Don’t look back and hope to outrun the blast hmm? A better chance than I had before you showed up. Thanks” The Commando said before running out of the cell.

 

Back out the way they came and back upstairs. Logan found more cells and another salarian locked up. This one however was quite insane.

 

After babbling and pleading to be let out, Logan made the choice not to let the salarian out, at which point the Commando went nuts and slammed his face against the energy field blocking his escape. The salarian ran that hard into the field, he broke his face open and knocked himself out cold.

 

Logan looked at the alien before telling the team to move on. After searching the facility room by room, they ended up in a room where experiments were being performed as they walked in. Logan shot one scientist in the face before the one right beside her could raise the alarm, a spilt second after the alarm was raised that scientist was killed too.

 

Logan noticed there was a krogan scientist whom Wrex seemed to take great pleasure in killing, mumbling traitor under his breath as he took the life of the krogan…and his head.

 

Once cleared, Logan moved his team outside and took out a few geth, but it seemed as if the facility’s forces were stretched too thin so Logan and his crew had very little trouble. Shadow team also had the advantage of working together so closely so each covered the other; Tali dropped shields and overheated weapons while Liara tore into geth forces with biotic power, Ashley moved forward with her assault rifle putting rounds though the geth’s centre mass before she moved onto her next target. Garrus backed Tali up with tech attacks and sniping, his large rifle booming with every kill. It was Wrex that was a sight to see, eight hundred pounds of fury armed with brute force and a shotgun. A few times Logan and the rest of them had to run to keep up.

 

Once the room was cleared they walked through a door on the far end and moved along a narrow walkway only a few hostiles to worry about before another door lead them to an office where there was an asari hiding.

 

“Don’t shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before it is too late” She said as she stood up.

 

“Step out slowly, keep your hands where I can see them” Logan ordered still holding his shotgun pointed towards her “who are you?”

 

“Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist. But this job is not worth dying over. Or worse” she said as she stood and looked at the squad before she continued “you think indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later Saren will want to dissect my brain too!”

 

Logan walked forward while the rest of them kept the guns trained on her. Logan looked at the desk and couldn’t see anything of interest but his silence was scaring Rana. Logan looked at the doctor, he knew the type; self-serving cowards, even now she is more worried about herself.

 

“What are you talking about? This is a breeding facility isn’t it?” Logan asked as he walked around and looked at her computer before looking up at Tali and giving her a nod and walking away from the computer.

 

Rana watched nervously as Tali went to her computer and begin searching “Not this level. We’re studying Sovereign’s effect on organic minds. At least that’s what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible”

 

Logan glanced over at Tali who looked up at shook her head, telling him that’s not true, Rana did not notice this, but Liara did “You helped him and you don’t even know why?”

 

Rana glared at Liara “I didn’t have the option of negotiating. The position is a little more…. permanent than I expected” Rana said quickly before turning back to Logan but I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren’s private lab. I get you in”

 

Tali looked up at that point and gestured to herself meaning she could open the elevator as well. Meaning Rana had nothing to bargain with but didn’t know it.

 

“See? Full access. All of Saren’s private files, are we good? Can I go?” Rana almost begged.

 

Logan wanted to hear what Rana was studying. Rana started to talk about Saren’s ship; Sovereign. The ship gives out a signal Rana told him, a signal that Saren uses to influence his followers and control them. Logan knew that Saren was not the mastermind behind this now. Logan listened as Rana explained how indoctrination works and even admitted she knew what she was doing by mentioning the prisoners.

 

“Where did the prisoners come from?” Logan asked already knowing the answer, he wanted to see if she knew.

 

“S.T.G” Rana said without any hesitation before she explained that S.T.G had been trying to get in for a while and she mentioned that she thought Shepard was working with them.

 

Logan not answering her question about working with S.T.G and instead asked how long she had been working there.

 

“A month” she said without realizing that also made her a traitor to the council, since Saren had been labelled as a traitor two months ago. Liara almost felt sorry for the asari, she had no idea she just admitted to a crime that there was only one punishment Logan would give her.

 

Logan sighed and took out his pistol and looked up at Rana “I can’t let you go” he said simply.

 

Rana’s eyes went wide “What? NO! I had no choice! I am sorry but they would have killed me if I refused or worse ended up with the prisoners”

 

Logan did not seemed moved “Sorry does not help your victims” he said as he raised his gun.

 

Rana started to cry and beg and plead with anyone who would listen, her cries were cut short when a round hit her in the throat, spraying blood onto her lab coat.

 

Logan looked at the others “Let’s move” he said as he coldly stepped over Rana who was laying on the ground gaggling on her own blood. Tali was still getting used to the level of violence Logan would show to his enemies and couldn’t stop staring at Rana as she died choking on her blood, she was expecting it to be quick not watching Rana slowly choke to death. While Garrus was just happy another traitor was taken care of but he did notice that Logan’s aim was not as good as his, as he would have been able to make a headshot at that range unless of course Logan aimed for her throat, something that made Garrus remind himself not to get on Logan’s bad side.

 

After searching the room the squad made their way down another elevator and after a short walk ended up in another room, this one containing a beacon, and a working one just like the one on Eden Prime, something Tali noticed as well, meaning she had done her homework on the mission reports Logan had done before she joined.

 

As Logan took a closer look at the beacon, something he shouldn’t know how to do but he did, he hit a few buttons and the beacon hit him with the stasis field again and started to lift him off the floor.

 

“Shepard!” The rest yelled out but Logan couldn’t hear them, as he was shown another vision, this one clearer than the last.

 

Towards the end of the vision which Logan noticed it was trying to show him a planet but didn’t know which one and the usual images of death were also there and a lot easier to make sense of.

 

As Logan dropped back to the ground and with a slight sway he stood up again, this beacon not affecting him as bad as the first beacon.

 

The rest of the squad made sure Logan was ok, and after Logan assured them he was they moved up the ramp way and could see a red hologram at the end of it, like a custom V.I.

 

“I got a bad feeling about this” Ashley said, the others agreed with her.

 

“You are not Saren” The V.I spoke in a deep inhuman voice.

 

Tali took a step closer “What is that? Some kind of V.I interface?”

 

“Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding” The V.I answered in a non V.I way.

 

“This is no V.I” Garrus said as he moved closer.

 

“There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even image it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign” It said.

 

Logan looked at the others “Saren’s ship is not some Reaper ship Saren found, it’s a actual Reaper!”

 

“Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what the choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are” Sovereign said.

 

“The Protheans disappeared fifty thousand years ago, you could not have been there. It’s impossible” Liara said.

 

“Organic life is nothing but a mutation, an accident; your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die” Sovereign explained “We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything”

 

Logan looked up at the Reaper and knew that this was what the visions were warning him of “There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you”

 

“Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken” Sovereign explained.

 

“What cycle?” Wrex asked.

 

“The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory they are extinguished” Sovereign answered coldly “The Protheans were not teh first, they did not create the Citadel, they did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind”

 

Logan shook his head “Why make the mass relays just for someone else to find?”

 

“Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire” Sovereign explained “We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it”

 

“They are harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level they need then wiping us out!” Liara said shocked as she looked at the others.

 

Logan looked at Liara and could tell she was scared before he looked back at Sovereign and asked “What exactly do you want?”

 

“My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence” Sovereign said sounding almost proud

 

_Can a machine feel proud?_ Logan thought to himself “Who built you?”

 

“We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure” Sovereign said and once again sounding very proud of itself.

 

“Where are the rest of the Reapers? Are you the last of your kind?” Logan asked

 

“We are Legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom” Sovereign answered.

 

“You’re not even alive. Not really. You’re just a machine. And machines can be broken” Logan said with no hint of doubt in his voice.

 

“Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over…Shepard” Sovereign said, saying his name like that was meant to scare him, but so far all Logan saw

 

Saying his name like that was meant to scare him, but so far all Logan saw was an A.I hooked up to a hologram, what did bother him though was the small explosion that followed by the news that followed.

 

“Commander, we got trouble” Joker said over the comms.

 

“Great, I love bad news” Logan said sarcastically.

 

“That ship, Sovereign? Its moving. I don’t know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half. It’s coming your way, and it’s coming hard! You need to wrap things up down there…fast” Joker said sounding impressed with what he just saw.

 

Kaidan walked back over from the console “Console is fried, orders Commander?”

 

Logan looked around before looking back at Kaidan “We nuke this place, let’s go”

 

 

**AN: Sorry for the long update but hope it was worth the wait. So don’t be shy let me know what you think and I’ll reply in the next chapter.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Spectre Vs Spectre**

**AN: Sorry this one took me awhile, but I will keep updating it may just take a lot of time between posts but it has not been forgotten. Thanks to all the likes and reviews so far.**

Logan and the rest of the team left the room the same way they came in, and once the elevator doors opened there was a geth destroyer waiting for them. The team made short work of the destroyer. After making their way back though Rana’s office and past her corpse, they crossed a bridge and it was here that they saw the first krogan that roamed the base, three of them.

“Young, they smell like a lab” Wrex told them before he quickly put them down by himself before anyone else could even help him. He launched two off the bridge and blasted the third close range with his shotgun.

Farther along they came across another krogan this one backed up by geth hoppers, rocket drones and assault drones and even a geth ghost, which was the codenamed given to geth snipers. Tali hacked the ghost while the rest of them took down the drones. The ghost now on their side for the time being shot the hoppers before it too was destroyed before Tali’s hack wore off.

The krogan was thrown off the side, again by Wrex. As they headed towards the AA tower, minor resistance slowed them down but not by much. Logan ordered Tali to shut the tower down while they covered her.

“Done Commander” She confirmed.

“Good job, let’s move out” he told the team.

Kirrahe came over the comm congratulating them and saying that now it is his turn now. Logan had to hand it to Kirrahe, he was doing his job well.

When they went to use the elevator, it doesn’t come up empty. Inside the elevator are two Geth Troopers and a Geth Shock Trooper. Logan threw a grenade into the elevator and dived to one side pushing Liara and Tali out of the way along with him, the rest of the team moved on their own.

Once the exited the elevator they could see dozens of krogan still in tanks, Logan felt slightly disgusted by the sight. Wrex on the other hand roared with rage and took his anger out of the geth that were guarding the halls. Garrus sniped one while standing at the back of the group while the rest of them kept any hostiles from reaching him. The narrow hallways of the krogan breeding trench made for a short fight, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

Once the door at the end of trench opens, a large open space with several geth troopers, geth rocket troopers, geth shock troopers, and a juggernaut. Wrex charged the shock troopers first, while Tali hacked a rocket trooper, a singularity from Liara kept the rest of the enemy from moving to close for now. Garrus focused on the juggernaut with Kaidan and Logan. The rocket trooper that Tali had hacked took down two troopers before it too was gunned down by its own, the shock troopers were smashed to bits by Wrex, who seemed to relish in tearing them apart. Once the squad had finished off the remaining geth, the Normandy landed a short time later, Logan knew that Joker would have been waiting for the landing zone to be cleared before bringing the ship into land.

Kaidan escorted the bomb personally down the ramp and into position near the geothermal taps that power the base, and its one weak point.

“Commander” Ashely called over the radio “Getting pinned down here, near the second AA tower. Going to need some help”

Kaidan looked at Logan and nodded “Go Commander, we are done here. Just need to arm the bomb and I’ll need a few minutes to do so”

Logan nodded “Good job” he said to Kaidan before answering Ashley “Williams hold on we are coming now” He told her.

After Ashley confirmed his orders Logan and the team all bar Kaidan quickly made their way back towards Ashley and the STG teams. Fighting their way though geth and krogan, who were now in full force with more surrounding them the closer to the AA tower they got. Halfway there and the situation got worse.

“Commander, I am getting surrounded, the geth are trying to get to the nuke” Kaidan called over the comms “Hurry up and get Ashley so I can blow this thing” he said, knowing that he was telling Commander to Shepard to leave him behind so the mission could be completed.

“Negative, leave me and go get LT and get out of here” Ashley responded.

Logan muted the comms for a second and screamed “FUCK!” he ran his hand though his hair, the aliens that made up his team just watched in silence as he made his choice. Tali couldn’t imagine how hard this would be for the human Commander; she looked to Garrus hoping someone could have an idea on how to get both of them off this planet, but to no luck.

Garrus flicked his mandibles but stayed silent nonetheless. He knew there was no way around this, someone had to die here to complete the mission, he did not judge Shepard for cursing the way he did, losing part of your unit was always hard, even harder when you have to choose.

Liara wanted to comfort the human who she was starting to see as her bond mate, she however knew that he needed her silence at the moment. She would speak to him later.  

Wrex could hear the heart of Logan and could tell from that and his scent that Logan was enraged at the impossible situation; he never showed it on his face though. Wrex had read the reports from Torfan and knew that while Logan would do what needed to be done; this would bother the human for some time.

 Ashley was with a whole platoon of STG and Kaidan could detonate the bomb once clear. If he went back for Kaidan then not only would Ashley die but so would all of the STG and if he went for Ashley then only Kaidan would die and the only reason why the nuke hadn’t gone off yet was because Kaidan was waiting for the rest f them to get clear.

“Williams, we are heading to you get ready to evac” Logan ordered.

A slight pause followed by an almost disappointed sounding Ashley answering with “Understood”

Logan sighed before he spoke to Kaidan “Kaidan, I’m sorry I had to make a choice”

Kaidan sounded almost relived “Don’t be sir, I understand. I don’t regret a thing”

Logan took a deep breath before he turned back to face his team “Let’s move” he ordered.

The team tore though the remaining forces and once at the AA tower noticed Saren himself was there. Saren spotted the team at the same time and he took aim and fired, as the geth and a few krogan followed his lead.

Logan and the others took cover quickly; Saren smirked and stood there in the open confident of his shields. The geth and krogan waited for Saren’s command to attack.

“This has been an impressive diversion Shepard; my geth were convinced that the Salarians were the real threat, of course it was all for nothing. I can’t let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can’t possibly understand what is truly at stake” Saren said as if he was speaking to a disrespectful child.

“This isn’t complicated, never was. You will do anything to get power” Logan said before he remembered what he had read from Saren’s files “Even joining with the Reapers. You have never liked humans. Bigots like you are easy to understand” Logan added.

“You have seen the visions from the beacon Shepard, you of all people should understand what the Reapers are capable of and they cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt; do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The protheans tried to fight and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead, but what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?” Saren asked clearly he had done this speech more than once.

“I’d rather die than live under the rule of those machines” Logan answered back.

“Now you see why I never came forward with my findings to the Council? We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic; we will fight even though we know we cannot win” Saren said pacing back and forth sounding more like he was convincing himself with every word “But if we work with the Reapers, if we make ourselves useful; think of how many lives could be spared?” Saren asked and without waiting for an answer he continued “Once I understood this I joined Sovereign, although I was aware of the dangers, I had hoped that this facility could protect me”

Logan laughed out loud at that “Sovereign is already influencing you, even now. It is controlling your thoughts. What makes you so special that it wouldn’t use you like it uses everything else?” Logan asked.

Saren paused for a moment before answering “I have studied the effects of indoctrination. The more control Sovereign excerts the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit, my mind is still my own…for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle, I will not let it happen to me” Saren said, once again sounding as if he needed to believe what he was saying.

“Why do the geth follow Sovereign?” Logan asked.

"They believe Sovereign to be some kind of God. The pinnacle of their own evolution. But the reaction of their deity is most telling - It is insulted. Sovereign does not desire the pitiful devotions the geth hurl at it. They are just tools and no amount of belief on their part will change that" Saren answered still standing in the open “but as tools they are useful, they will survive the coming invasion. If organic life is to survive, we must also prove we are useful. We must work with the Reapers”

Logan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Saren really did believe this “Why does Sovereign need the Conduit? Tell me what it is, maybe we can find a way to stop them” Logan said trying to appeal to the soldier in Saren.

“The Conduit is the key to your destruction and my salvation. Sovereign needs my help to find it. That is the only reason why I have not been indoctrinated” Saren answered sounding almost desperate.

“You’re a coward Saren. How did they ever make you a Spectre?” Logan asked before adding “I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees”

“I am not doing this for myself, don’t you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable; my way is the only way any of us will survive. I am forging an alliance between us and the Reapers, between organics and machines and in doing so I will save more lives than have ever existed. But you would undo all my work, you would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation, and for that you must die” Saren said glowing blue from biotics.

The biotic ball of energy fired a split second later and barely missed Logan. The others took cover and began to focus on the geth and krogan that were keeping STG and Ashley pinned down.

“Wrex, get Williams” Logan ordered “Tali back him up” Logan screamed as a round went passed his head “Garrus and Liara cover them”

Outnumbered and against a more experienced foe, Logan noticed that the battle was not going well for his side. He dropped one geth trooper and noticed that it was replaced more three more. Ashley and the STG team were pinned down and of little help, while his team came under heavy fire.

Liara was using her biotics almost constantly which being a doctor not a commando left her tiring quickly, with a roar a krogan slammed into her from her left side. Breaking two of her ribs and sending her flying, she looked up just in time to see the young krogans head explode from behind fired by Wrex. Four krogan pointed at the old battle master and moved towards him.

Wrex laughed as he threw a warp at the closest one and roared a challenge to them, he finished that one off before he was able to wound another one before a shotgun wielding krogan blasted him in his side, two more blasts dropped his shields and before he could fire back he was attacked from the other side by two geth. Bleeding badly, Tali ran to help the old krogan and a round made its way though her mask for her trouble, missing her head and face by millimeters but leaving a hole in her mask and sending sharp pieces of her mask into her face. She dropped to the ground and frantically tried to patch the hole while her mouth filled with blood.

Garrus covered Tali as best he could, his sniper rifle booming every few seconds, every shot a kill, this however the remaining krogan that Wrex had challenged charged him. A warp hit Garrus shields and he swore as he took cover. He knew that his shields would not recharge before they reached him.

As the first one jumped over his cover Garrus shot him from groin to neck with his assault rifle, leaving his gun overheated, Garrus prepared his sidearm, knowing that his pistol would not be enough to stop a charging krogan. It was at that moment that the krogan was lifted up from behind. Logan stood five feet away, glowing blue he opened fire with his shotgun while Garrus also shot the krogan finishing him off.

Garrus looked at Logan and noticed he had a trickle of blood from his head Logan shook his head when he went to help the human Commander “Go help the others. I am going hot, tell Tali” he told Garrus.

Garrus nodded, ‘going hot’ was what Logan told him and Tali meant that he was going to be using that strange mixture he had made earlier, highly toxic to turians and possibly quarians as well, harmless to humans and levo-based DNA species. To say that the substance made Garrus nervous was an understatement. While not a toxin technically, instead it was a mix of foods that react badly to turians, it should only take a few minutes after exposure for the first signs to appear.

Logan opened a small container and covered his hands and face with it before he charged Saren himself. Saren turned to face the human and only just managed to deflect a biotic ball of energy that Logan had thrown at him, which gave Logan the opening he needed to punch Saren in the face, smearing the blue substance over the older turians face.

Saren retaliated with a strike of his own, before spitting some of it out of his mouth, it was then that Saren noticed the human was smiling at him before he attacked him again. Saren’s shields stopped the two shotgun blasts from Logan before Saren had to avoid a blade that was thrown with biotics before once again the human was on top of him again.

At first the two of them used biotics and firearms to try and kill one another, once the weapons were either sabotaged or over heated from overuse they resorted to their bare hands and blades.

Garrus had managed to help the others and they were now stopping Saren from getting any help. Risking a glance over at the two Spectres and Garrus could see that neither one was holding back, the sheer ferocity of the two Spectres trying to kill one another was a sight that Garrus would never forget, he needed to get over there and help but right now geth and krogan were busy trying to help Saren as well.

Logan screamed as Saren’s talons stabbed the side of his neck avoiding a lethal wound but deep enough that Logan was losing blood and fast, but before Saren could remove his hand Logan grabbed it and pulled him in closer for a head butt, the sound of a human head smacking against the exoskeleton of the turian could be heard over the sound of gunfire.

While still holding onto Saren’s wrist Logan twisted around and forced Saren’s own hand back into the turians face while Saren was distracted, Logan reached for his pistol but before the gun could be fired at the turians face, Saren knocked the gun of centre causing two rounds to hit Saren low in the stomach before Saren forced the gun away from him but left himself open to be pistol whipped instead.

Logan snarled as he charged his biotics but instead of firing he used it as a distraction instead using the spilt second opening to pistol whip Saren again. Saren blocked the next attack and used his metal arm to slam it down across Logan’s arm, snapping it at the elbow.

Logan screamed and responded by spitting a blob of blood into Saren’s eyes, from there Logan grabbed Saren’s right mandible with his good arm and drove the turians head into a nearby wall before he booted the side of the turians head into the wall and was about to do it again when Saren reached out and grabbed Logan by the throat and lifted him up.

The pressure of Saren’s hand slowed any blood loss from the neck wound but Logan was fading fast.

“Interesting tactic Shepard, would have worked had Sovereign not already improved me” Saren admitted “I can feel my cybernetics flushing my system of any foreign substances”

Logan reached for his knife slowly so Saren would not notice; it was then that Sovereign arrived and made a loud noise which got Saren’s attention, while his head was turned Logan slashed him across the face forcing Saren to drop him.

Logan stood up feeling lightheaded and with one good arm placed a generous amount of medi-gel on his neck wound while he watched Saren fly away on that flying platform he used.

The others had managed to fight off the remaining geth and krogan and were now tending to their wounds, including Tali who now in bad shape, speaking gibberish and telling everyone she loved them.

Logan stumbled over to them once Saren had gone and looked at the wounded. Liara was holding one side but standing, Garrus seemed to be bleeding from a small head wound and was breathing heavy, Wrex much to the envy of everyone else was healing right in front of them, but clear that he took a beating as well. Tali was the worst, her mask was patched together with some kind of glue and loaded up on anti-biotics that he made her giddy.

STG and Ashley helped them get back on to the Normandy. Dr Chakwas ordered all of them into the med bay, none of them moved away from the window showing Virmire. They watched as a large mushroom cloud rose from the surface.

“Who did we leave behind?” Joker asked quietly over the comms.

“Kaidan” Logan answered his voice just above a whisper.


End file.
